Proprietors of private education institutions have protested the 20 recommendations arrived at during the recently concluded that could affect the way they operate.
The Education and Sports Ministry plans to implement the recommendations during remaining part of the 2017/2018 academic year and the following year. The recommendations included among others requiring each private school to establish a functional board of governors, regulating the increment of tuition, scrapping primary one entry interviews, issuing homework and examining children in pre-primary, regulating the establishment and distribution of private schools and institutions and the development of an assessment model for physical education.
The proposed implementation of the recommendations hasn't gone down with some private schools, saying they may affect their operations. Samuel Kyewalyanga, the head teacher Lake Side College Luzira, says regulating the increment of tuition may hinder their operation, since schools have different needs.
Cephus Kamya, the head teacher Hormisdallen Primary School in Kamwokya, says scrapping primary one entry interviews is like treating a patient with a fever without ascertaining the cause of the fever.
"Primary one interview is a way for us to gauge a child's ability to read, write or express themselves. This assessment helps us determine how to handle each child. Without interviews, we would teach these children blindly without knowing their strengths and weaknesses," he said.
A teacher from one of the schools in Nakawa Division, some of the recommendation may never see the light of the day. "The ministry makes recommendations but we never see them being put into action. How will they make sure that all schools have Physical Education teachers and facilities yet every other day land belonging to some schools is being sold and they do nothing?" he asked.
Catherine Rose Wanyana, the head teacher Lohana Primary School says the decision to stop increment of tuition would hinder some activities at the school. "We recently increased our fees after two years and the main reason we increased it in the first place was due to the increment of prices of almost everything from food to water. Putting a ban would affect us. We would be forced to change our meal plan and a lot of other things," she said.
However, some teachers have welcomed the recommendations. Winifred Nakanjako, a teacher at Marto Nursery school, says that the ministry is right to stop the issuance of homework in nursery schools, saying it retards a child's mind.
Alex Kakooza, the Education Ministry Permanent Secretary, says they have already started issuing out circulars containing some of the recommendations. Edith Nakkadama, a parent to a primary four pupils wants the ministry to come up with recommendations to improve Universal Primary Education.
"The recommendations that the ministry came up with are good but it looks like they are all aimed at controlling private schools yet this country's education sector has bigger problems than private schools and how they are run. Instead of focusing on private schools, they should fine tune UPE and come up with recommendations to make it better," she said.
According to the Eduction Ministry, there are 29,636 registered education facilities from pre-primary to tertiary education in the country. More than 10,000 of the 29,636 institutions are privately owned.
