The government has been urged to start recognizing the nursery education which is the foundation of any person’s education journey in Uganda’s Education system.
The director of Our Lady Junior School Mukono, Ester Nakkungu showed her dismay saying that because the government does not recognize the vital three years of the nursery education, also other members of the public tend to refer to that crucial beginning of the education cycle as a waste of time, saying that is procedurally wrong.
“It’s so unfortunate that government is currently pushing for all the teachers to have a minimum education qualification of a degree but in the public schools, the government does not recognize the nursery teachers and that is approved by the fact that nursery teachers even when the school is owned by government, they are not included on its payroll,” she said.
Nakkungu made her remarks while addressing the parents at the school’s top class graduation and annual talents show exhibited through music, dance and drama presentations.
She regretted that today, many people regard nursery education as a by-the-way, forgetting that if it is not diligently handled, learners may find difficulties like lack of confidence even at higher education levels.
The director therefore urged the government to render nursery education the support it needs, including paying teachers’ salaries.
She advised society to forthwith start respecting nursery teachers, arguing that they handle learners at the most delicate stage where they need a lot of care, attention, love and commitment to start molding them to admirable levels that are cherished at subsequent education levels.
A fellow director, Herman Ssenkubuge expressed disgust by the government’s policy of disparity in paying salaries to science and arts teachers, saying they both offer an equally desirable job in educating the country’s children.
Ssenkubuge argued that science and arts teachers spend similar work hours in school and put in similar efforts; he prophesied that if the disparity is not reversed immediately, arts teachers and learners are destined to get demoralized considering themselves as being less important in contributing to national development.
In his address, the school chaplain Pr. Joseph Kusalira dismissed claims that born-again founded schools have a tendency of indoctrinating learners of different religious affiliations with a view to make them discard their faiths and start subscribing to the born-again faith.
Pr. Kusalira said that what they hold as a common ground is teaching learners that God, by whatever name called in various affiliations, is the supreme being who should be worshipped above any other.
The school head teacher Isaac Opali thanked parents for accepting to be part of the school community by entrusting their children to the school, adding that they entrusted them with the most valuable item from God.
Graduating top class learners were awarded with certificates and gifts, and together with their colleagues from upper classes, made talent exhibitions to their parents.
