Outgoing state minister for Primary Education, Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo, has tasked teachers across the country to respect themselves and their learners and avoid immorality.
The minister, who was speaking during celebrations to mark the Day of the African Child in Masaka last Thursday, was irked by reports that a teacher had recently impregnated a learner but was still at large.
The Bamunanika MP found himself in a bitter exchange with district police officers over their reluctance to arrest the teacher from Masaka School for the Deaf in Ndegeya.
“Where do you [teacher] get the thought of sleeping with your student, and a deaf one at that?” Muyingo asked, as he addressed a gathering at Masaka-liberations grounds.
Dr Muyingo tasked the Masaka district police commander, John Mwaule, to explain why the teacher, Tommy Mulumba, had not been arrested despite an arrest warrant. In response, Mwaule explained that the arrest warrant was being implemented but that the suspect was now on the run. Dr Muyingo charged teachers across the country to act responsibly.
“Stories are emerging from even higher institutions of such immoralities; it is a shame for teachers to bear,” a remorseful Muyingo added.
The pupil, whose identity is being withheld, is now four months pregnant. The UN children’s fund (Unicef) used the occasion to launch two booklets on ending violence against children.
The booklets are being launched in conjunction with the education ministry to help children protect themselves from all kinds of injustices. The two booklets are to equip children with knowledge and skills against conflicts, violence and disasters in their schools and communities.
Muyingo said these booklets entitled ‘Say No To Violence’ and ‘Know your risk, Prepare to Act’ will be a must-have in both primary and secondary schools starting with the 2017 academic year.
The celebrations held in Masaka were under a theme of ‘Protecting Children’s rights; A call to Action.
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