Education stakeholders call for learner safety and rest during holidays

21 August 2025, 5:20 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

As the second term officially comes to a close, parents have been advised to allow their children to rest and to engage them in age-appropriate activities during the holiday. The Headteacher of Sheehan Standard Day and Boarding Primary School in Rubaga Division, Kampala, Kizito Joseph, made the remarks while addressing journalists in Kampala.

Kizito expressed gratitude to God for enabling the school to complete the term without major challenges, noting that some schools had lost learners and parents during the term.

“First and foremost, I want to take this opportunity to thank Almighty God for enabling us to complete this term successfully. We do not take it for granted because it has been over 80 days. Our children have been very active at school, and we appeal to parents to let them rest a bit but also teach them some work appropriate to their age. This term we held mock exams for candidates, and they went well. We believe the more our candidates practise these papers, the more confident they will become as the Primary Leaving Examinations draw closer,” he said.

The headteacher also cautioned parents against keeping learners at home for weeks at the start of a new term, saying it disrupts learning. He advised parents facing financial challenges to engage school administrators rather than delaying their children’s reporting.

“If it is about school fees, go to the school and explain to the headteacher because we are also parents and sometimes we too lack fees. But we go to the school and talk to the responsible administrator as we try to raise the money. Especially in private schools, we rely on fees paid by parents, and there is no way to run a school without them,” he explained.

Commenting on the issue of banning school trips, Kizito said trips should not be scrapped but instead guided and regulated by the Ministry of Education, with input from stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chairman in charge of Administration at the Federation of Uganda Taxi Operators, Mayambala Mustafa, urged parents to take responsibility for picking up their children from schools instead of leaving them to travel long distances alone.

“I want to appeal to parents to please take responsibility for collecting their children from schools to avoid unnecessary incidents. I also confirm to the general public that during this time, we will not increase taxi fares because there is no need for that. For taxi drivers who use this period to carry passengers to places they are unfamiliar with, we warn them, because unknown routes can sometimes result in accidents,” he said.