"All students should access learning materials for free", says Ministry of Education

The permanent secretary in the ministry of Education and Sports, Alex Kakooza, has said all students in both private and government schools are entitled to learning materials that are being distributed by the government.

This comes after government closed schools two months ago in a bid to prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19.

Talking to the media, Kakooza said it was very expensive to print these learning materials because the ministry did not get any special budget for the programme.

"We were trying to operate within the little means we have but we are sure that all the learners have benefited," he said.

On the issue of the special needs students such as the blind and the deaf, Kakooza said they have been catered for as well.

"The National Curriculum Development Centre is reprogramming these learning materials into usable items so they have been catered for,"he said.

He also explained that the responsibility of educating children should not only be left to the ministry but also to the parents and the local leadership.

He reassured the public that no learner will be left out because the learning materials that were issued covers only the previous topics learnt by the learners.

"If we go back to school, it means we shall begin from where we stopped and cover the remaining syllabus,"he said.

He said these materials were sent without any discrimination in terms of schools.