KAMPALA — Ministers for Education on Wednesday July 21 offered clashing guidance after a section of secondary schools started admitting students online, just days after the release of the 2020 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) results.
Dr Chrysostom Muyingo, the state minister for higher education, said following the release of PLE results, parents are free to apply for admission.
“As long as the ministry has released the results, parents can apply anywhere. This is because there are parents who want their children to study from abroad, some will be joining international schools. Therefore, the ministry cannot stop the admissions,” Dr. Muyingo was quoted by New Vision as saying.
Ismail Mulindwa, the director for basic and secondary education at the ministry, said schools can admit on condition that they do not invite students and parents to go to the school physically.
In addition, he said, parents should only pay school fees when the Government guides on school reopening dates.
“Schools should not force parents to pay school fees now because we don’t know when we will reopen,” he said.
However, later in the evening, junior Education Minister for Primary Education Joyce Moriku Kaducu said government has not authorised the admission process to begin.
Kaducu warned schools registering students to stop it immediately.
“We have not pronounced ourselves on online registration or online selection, and I want to make this very clear for those schools calling parents (be private, be government schools) who are trying to use the online for filling forms, and getting money from parents that that is very illegal,” said Minister Kaducu.
She said government is discussing the modalities for reopening schools which will be guided by the scientific evidence on the current situation of Covid 19, adding that government wants to ensure that all the teachers are vaccinated against Covid-19.
