KCCA closes school over holiday teaching

Little Star Tenderness Primary School in Busabala was on Tuesday closed by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) over holiday teaching.

The closure of the school comes barely two weeks after KCCA banned holiday teaching in the city to allow children time to engage in other activities.

The KCCA education director, Mr Prosper Lwamasaka, told Daily Monitor that the owner of the school defied the authority’s orders. He said the act will force other schools to follow suit but what they are doing is illegal.

“We found pupils in class studying and when teachers learnt that we are from KCCA, they took off. However, we managed to arrest one. The owner of the school is also on the run but we shall hunt him down until we locate his whereabouts,” Mr Lwamasaka said.

He said they have learnt that many schools are still teaching during the holidays but KCCA will continue combing the city to apprehend the perpetrators.

Asked about the fate of this school, Mr Lwamasaka said it will remain closed since its owners have not come forward to explain why they defied lawful orders.

After the closure of the school, pupils remained stranded as their hopes of resuming second term hung in balance.
They camped at the head teacher’s office waiting for official communication but in vain. Some told Daily Monitor they had paid holiday fees although they couldn’t delve into details of payments.

A Primary Seven pupil was heard blaming the teachers for failure to tell pupils that holiday teaching had been banned. “Am scared because am a candidate. If our school remains closed, this will affect my performance in the Primary Leaving Examinations. Our head teacher should help us urgently,” he said.

Mr Elijah Muwonge, a resident of Busabala whose two children attend the school said as parents, they will visit the school administration to ascertain if the school will be opened. He added that he would apply to other schools if it remains closed.
Efforts to get a comment from the school management were fruitless.

THE BACKGROUND
On Sunday, May 22, Daily Monitor ran a story confirming a directive by Kampala Capital City Authority and the Ministry of Education banning all forms of extra lessons for children during school holidays. While speaking to journalists at City Hall in Kampala on Friday May 22, Ms Juliet Namuddu Nambi, the KCCA director of education and social services warned schools to adhere to the school calendar since extra time is intended for the learners’ social development at their homes, not at school.
She also cautioned parents who enter into personal arrangements with individual teachers to teach their children in private places.