Government has ordered schools to stop conducting their own online teaching and charging parents fees for the service because both actions are irregular.
Mr Alex Kakooza, the Ministry of Education permanent secretary, told Daily Exclusives yesterday that he received information that some schools are charging parents for the online teaching materials for learners yet the government is already funding the provision of teaching materials in the mass media and asked the offending schools to stop the irregularity.
“We have heard some schools are charging for online studies. What if schools don’t open up to next year, what will happen? Will the schools set their own exams for candidate classes? It is irregular for those planning for second term. Use what government has provided on televisions, radios and print media. This is revision. Let’s not disadvantage other learners,” Mr Kakooza said in a telephone interview.
However, this does not affect international schools which do not teach local national curriculum or sit examinations under the Uganda National Examinations Board.
Following the closure of all schools after the Covid-19 lockdown in March, the Ministry of Education, through National Curriculum Development Centre, designed content to facilitate continuous online or virtual learning during the period.
Teaching content for Primary One up to Senior Six has been running in both electronic and print media such as television, radios and newspapers at government cost.
Government plan
Selected teachers are using a timetable which government designed for the various classes to conduct lessons on radio and television stations. For learners who can’t access radio and television at home, the government printed work and sent it to districts for distribution to parents although there have been complaints that the printed materials are not enough.
A number of schools across the country are conducting their own virtual teaching and had planned to start the second term. Some schools demanded parents to pay for the services to enable them to facilitate the teachers involved.
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