Recently, Bridge International Academies issued a statement indicating that they would be opening for the first term this year.
That is despite a court order shutting down its schools in Uganda last year. On the other hand, the education ministry has vowed not to allow the reopening of unlicensed schools for the first term, across the country.
These institutions have up to the end of January to obtain licenses or remain closed. While we have no doubt that the ministry has the capacity to fulfill its directives, past experience has led many to believe that some of these edicts are more likely to be ignored.
Anyone who doubts this would just provide an answer to how a firm came into the country last year and set up 63 schools, which ended up offering a service, without a license.
And they are not the only ones working without a license. As our story on schools in Jinja district has indicated, district education officials across the country are battling with unlicensed institutions.
Whereas some have argued that there is need for school access across the country, it is the feeling here that these institutions ought to be licensed and regulated. All those that decline to be licensed should be prevented from taking in parents and children, irrespective of how much political or economic influence they may own.
In the meantime, the education ministry should also invest heavily in inspection and the implementation of the regulations. It is hard enough for parents to come up with the money to pay for their children’s tuition. The ministry needs to realize that the parents are also paying to ensure the schools are properly regulated and kept in line.
school@observer.ug