PETITION TO THE SPEAKER OF THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA requ

The students’ community in Uganda is approximately 15million people
Following the 11th of March 2020 when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 pandemic, the President of Uganda took steps to curb the spread of the virus hence the closure of schools on 18th March 2020 and the rest of the economy thereafter. These institutions have been closed without any activities going on upto date.
Government through the ministry took various steps to engage students through among others provision of reading material to students in candidate classes, this approach however wasn’t comprehensive as it did not involve a large share of the finalist given the challenges that surrounded it
Geographically some parts of the country did not receive these materials ,the mode of distribution of these materials wasn’t robust , this in some cases was because the amount of material that was sent was in limited numbers in relation to the number of students in specific areas , there wasnt a clearly put structure that would enable distribution of the material to all parts of the districts and so was the data of finalists living in those places considering that some students were studying in other districts.
In some areas the students were required to pay for the material or photocopy despite that most areas of the country do not have such services, The other challenge was also access to such information as largely students in rural areas weren’t aware of such arrangements so consequently only those in urban areas and those close to the people in charge of this arrangement benefited as opposed to all the finalists in the country
This approach also did not take into account students in higher institutions of learning as it catered for only primary and secondary level finalists
It should also be noted that the government promised to provide radios and TVs across the country to enhance teaching however this however has not been enforced
The Ministry of education scheduled 15th October 2020 as the day for reopening of academic institutions for finalist students at all levels and this is where we would like to appeal to your office for your indulgence Rt.Hon Speaker
Following the scheduled reopening of schools for finalists, academic institutions and opening of the e-learning window for institutions of higher learning, these institutions have made online learning compulsory for all non-finalist students which we find very problematic
The minister of education upon acceptance of the e-learning model put a condition that these respective institutions were to make sure that no student was left out. A document circulated by different universities and NCHE to inquire about readiness of the students as the primary stakeholders in the continuation of studies, has up to now not had its results made available. We believe whereas this was a good approach to assess the readiness of students, the actions taken henceforth have been not only contradictory to the information collected but also aiming only at making sure universities completing their academic calendars irrespective of the students’ input
It should be noted that in Uganda this learning model is still affected by a number of challenges which include unequal access to ICT tools, services and resources, bandwidth limitation, high costs of internet subscription, unreliable internet, infrastructure limited to only urban areas,e-learning pedagogy, e-learning content ,level of computer skills and the capacity of institutions to sustain and maintain the implementation
Therefore, where individuals don’t subscribe to it upon realization of the capacity to sustain it like it has been with long distance learning and external studies this cannot be efficient
Consequently, majority of students are left out because of the above challenges but most importantly the arrangement is based on the assumption that all students have access to mobile phones and internet that are mandatory requirement for this model
In June 2018, there were reported to be 21.6 million mobile subscriptions for an estimated 39 million population according to the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC)[1].
The National Information Technology Survey 2017/18 report gave more details to mobile phone ownership. Their report found that 71% of all individuals owned a mobile phone, and of these only 16% of individuals, who owned a mobile phone, owned a smart phone. Other findings from the report showed that;
• More males (81.6%) owned a mobile compared to females (63.2%)
• More urban respondents (78.5%), compared to rural respondents (65.7%) owned a phone.
• There was equal ownership across age groups - 60.7% of 15-24 year-olds and 64.6% of 75+ years owned a mobile phone
• But younger people were more likely to own a smart phone: 28.0% of 15-24 year-olds, compared to 4.2% of 75+ year-olds
According to NITA (2020) international penetration stands at only 37.9%
Despite these evident obstacles, the universities are forcing those who are unable to access the platforms to file for dead years. We think this cannot be justified as these failures are not an individuals own making
This goes against the minister’s directive that required that students not to be left out on grounds of failure by this system
The ministry also recognized that quality of education was not guaranteed in this kind of system due to adaptation challenges from both the teachers and students side.
But additional and most importantly the mode of learning doesn’t always take into account the social context in which these students live
According to Human rights watch report in Kenya and Malawi, it was discovered that during the lockdown girls were resigned to take up home care responsibilities such as cooking, laundry and looking after their siblings which made it difficult for them to concentrate on online studying as they would be exhausted but also have limited time to attend the classes, the same challenges apply to Uganda as largely society is constructed in such a way that girls should take on such responsibilities
Secondly psychologically, learning requires selective attention, that is to say that there should be minimal destruction from the environment, these are ordinarily controlled by sitting in class, presence of class regulations against making noise, eating in class etc and presence of classmonitors and teachers, these are not existent with online learning and the students were not trained to cope to this model given that this was instant.
Among others this model discriminates students with disabilities especially those with visual and auditory impairments
The online model equally does not favor courses that require practical engagement especially science courses such a human and veterinary medicine ,engineering among others this therefore puts the most important value (quality of education)at a compromise as well
Among other institutions to open include health institutions. It should be noted that the education in these institutions is primarily hands-on requiring physical input of both the tutors and students. This becomes much more apparent as the students approach in clinical years whereby eighty five percent of the academic term activities are physical these including but not limited to ward rounds, where not only skills are taught to the students but are assessed as well. Out of the fifteen weeks of study in a semester, twelve are spent in hospitals attached. This therefore means that physical presence of students is not only paramount but inevitable. These hospitals where the students are attached are widespread from Butabika, Kiruddu to Kawempe. Without accommodation in halls of residence and hostels during the study period which ensures easy of mobilisation and movement of these students, this is dead end for students in these institutions. The undergraduates in the lower years also need access to hands-on training which gives a basis for handling real patients in the clinical years.
In as much one may be inclined to dead year to the medical institutions, it should be borne in mind that the medical students and the interns are the backbone in the medical sector in Uganda. Right from undergraduates to postgraduates. These are the people responsible for the greatest of the healthcare to the patients especially those in public hospitals where the qualified professionals do more of the consultation with limited time in these hospitals. Therefore, effective continuation and promotion of these is very important, otherwise we would have such a huge gap in our system
Makerere University has put in place alternatives that are zero rated for those doing online studying however in reality for one to access these sites in the first place they must have internet data
Secondly , MUELE which is being used can only be used to access textbooks and research work but does not enable interaction between the lecturer and the students which is a requirement for standard teaching and as result lecturers have resorted to using applications that enable interaction such as soon howver these require a lot of internet data ,stable internet network , knowledge on how to operate them ,evidently across colleges that have used this application only half of the class attends and these numbers keep fluctuating during the lecture .It also should be noted that largely universities which have done online learning and examinations have done them in form of take home ,we think this does not reflect into quality education and training as teachers interactive input is essential for the above to be attained
Financially, these institutions are requiring payment of full dues before sitting of examinations
Following the six months of economic inactivity its agreeable that the household incomes across the board were highly affected and therefore parents don’t have the capacity to pay all school dues in time,
The few continuing students who are taking on online studying are also incurring daily high internet costs which also constribute to learning costs and the institutions are not taking these into account as they are demanding that they also pay full amount of the tuition.
It’s therefore important that the institutions take this into account as they implement their various fees policies for finalist students
Our humble prayers are therefore that: -
1. Finalists with fees challenges are allowed to sit for examinations and are required to complete their payment upon accessing their transcripts
2. And continuing students upon reopening of the first semester of the following year or be given favourable payment programs that can be agreed on by the Student leaders and the Administration.
3. That in recognition of the financial challenges all academic institutions have faced following their closure for the last six months ,the government should provide a stimulus package to enable them get back on their feet .
4. That taxes on private universities are suspended and in turn tuition in private universities is reduced
5. That taxes on University hostels are suspended to prevent the additional charges on students resulting from the lockdown . That universities upon suspension of these taxes work with hostels to make sure that students are not charged additional hostel fees .
6. That online learning is suspended because its discriminatory in nature and inefficient
7. That, necessary preparations are made to make sure that continuing students report back to school physically.
8. Students doing practical courses like medical students are allowed to come back and be able to access accommodation in their respective halls of residences and hostels since online studies are not feasible.
Note; ‘We recognize that prayer 6 raises the question of institutions capacity to ensure standard operating procedures , however it should be noted that SOPs among students and pupils are easier to regulate when they are in schools as opposed to when they are in the community
It should be noted that communities especially in rural areas have since stopped observing these procedures as activities that bring people together have since resumed such as sports activities, political gatherings, socializing in the village centers during evening time etc .
Children especially girls continue to be exposed to child abuse, according to Hon Judith Nabakooba the minister of information by the month of June 21000 cases of child abuse had already been reported
The more school children stay out of school the higher the cases of sexual abuse, pregnancies, dropout of schools occur.
Therefore the desire to open schools must not only be seen in light of academic convinence but also in the need to maintain the efforts that have since been in place to curb such societal challenges.