Members of Parliament (MPs) have reiterated demands for the education ministry to support schools with funds to purchase sanitisers, soap, masks and other requirements for standard operating procedures (SOPs) when they reopen for candidate classes. The MPs argued that with the limited capitation grants, schools are likely to transfer the cost to the parents, who are already burdened. “Some schools have already sent budgets to parents asking them to pay for masks, sanitisers, and soap. They are also asking parents to pay all the fees for the second term. Can the ministry provide schools with money to help them buy these requirements?” the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Betty Aol Ochan, asked during the House sitting on Thursday, October 1. Wilfred Niwagaba (Ndorwa East) asked the education minister to explain whether there are any plans to help schools obtain these requirements. “I have received complaints from teachers saying these requirements are expensive for them to provide free of charge. Secondly, there are some schools with many candidates and with all these SOPs, it may not be possible to observe the required spacing. How is the education ministry going to handle this matter?” Niwagaba asked. However, the state minister of education in charge of sports, Denis Obua, told Parliament that the issue would be addressed administratively.
