Education and Sports Minister Ms Janet Museveni has said that contrary to some media reports, her ministry has not prohibited e-learning that some schools and academic institutions have taken during the lockdown period.
All schools in Uganda were closed in March to avert the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and close to four months later, they are yet to re-open. As a result, some institutions have taken the initiative of teaching their students online. Ms Museveni said this is not prohibited.
“There has been a misconception in the media that the Ministry of Education and Sports prohibited e-learning. This is absolutely not true; we cannot be the ones banning what we are promoting. A number of institutions including Uganda Christian University, Makerere University and several International Schools in Basic and Secondary levels have been utilizing e-learning; even before the outbreak of COVID-19,” she said during her address to the nation on Friday night.
“What we are doing as a Sector is to put forward a comprehensive sector-wide agenda to guide delivery of formal Education through e-learning mechanisms because it has implications on quality of education for the country and its citizens. Once the ICT and E-Learning Framework is complete, we shall communicate it to our stakeholders and the public at large because you all deserve to know,” she said.
Mama Janet as she is fondly known said schools are not about to re-open as it is not wise to re-open them while Covid-19 is still upon us.
E-learning remains the most viable option to continue the curriculum.