A total of 106 schools throughout the country will remain closed this coming term until they meet the demands of the Education Standards Agency.
The Education Standards Agency is an autonomous department of the Ministry of Education and Sports responsible for monitoring quality of schools and colleges in Uganda.
Huzaifah Mutazindwa, Executive Director of the agency, says the closed schools all defied a ban against holding extra tuition classes during the holidays. He says they will not be opened until they provide written agreements vowing to stop the practice.
By yesterday evening, only Global Junior School in Mukono, out of all the schools closed, had submitted its written agreement against holiday coaching.
The Ministry of Education requires that any school or teacher intending to conduct holiday tuition classes should seek express permission from the Minister.
Mutazindwa says this is to prevent unsupervised classes, which are open to abuse by both teachers and students.
//Cue in: "In fact we know cases ..." Cue out: "... to mad people."//
Despite the action taken against schools conducting holiday tuition classes, the sessions continue. Teachers are opting to coach students at their homes, in restaurants or churches that are not regularly monitored by the Education Standards Agency.
