Foreword
Education is a basic human right and forms a foundation upon which global and national sustainable development thrives. With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, education like many other sectors was profoundly affected. The target of the Sustainable Development Goal 4
which clearly stipulates that all girls and boys should attain and complete free primary and secondary schooling by 2030 is in total jeopardy. It is also likely that whatever the efforts, “education will never be or mean the same again”, since the closure of schools and institutions of learning for close to two years. Lessons learned from the pandemic will either propel the quality of education to higher horizons, or it if its implications are not carefully analyzed and proper solutions provided, then the world might fail to realize the pre-pandemic education standards. COVID-19 has affected learners’ psychosocial stability due to a number of challenges children are currently facing at home. We have heard in the social and mainstream media about children as young as 12 years getting pregnant, boys being sodomized by close relatives, children asking as to whether they will join their pre-pandemic classes or jump a class. All these challenges are and more are likely to result in loss of interest in learning; which is likely to escalate the drop-out rates when schools open. No one yet knows how many of the estimated 500,617 teachers in both government and private schools will return to class in what form – although independent studies in other countries like United States already estimate between 27 – 30% teacher drop-out.
Makerere University School of Education and the Ministry of Education and Sports organized a two day (November 24th – 25th, 2021) National Stakeholders Symposium on COVID-19 and Education at the Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala. The main goal of the symposium was to provide a platform for stakeholders in Education to analyze and discuss issues pertaining to COVID-19. To achieve this, pre-symposium activities such as setting up of the Technical Working Groups (TWGs) were put in place. Technical Working Groups (TWGs) based on identified themes met to analyze and discuss key issues and innovations, spell out approaches that would work during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, list key recommendations and identify subsequent actors who were to implement the recommendations. The Theme of the symposium was “Getting back a right to quality education during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The resultant outcome of the symposium is the formulation of a National Participatory Consolidated Plan of Action on COVID-19 and Education. The symposium was graced by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports Hon. Janet Kataaha Museveni. It was addressed by Ms. Ketty Lamaro, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and SPorts; H.E. Ambassador Kevin Colgan, Head of Mission – Embassy of Ireland; Chair, University Council, Makerere University; and the Vice Chancellor, Please attachments for the full Magazine
