BY Innocent Kiiza
Following a tally of six month lockdown due to Covid 19, reports has indicated that over 20,000 school children in Kasese district will not return to schools due to defilement and pregnant related Cases as schools prepares to reopen on 15th October 2020.
The president last month revealed the minister of health has advised him on the SOPs will be observed and finalist students to restart school as schools open on 15 October.
Bwambale Monday Girevasio the chairperson Uganda National Teachers Association kasese municipality while addressing school heads at Kasese primary school in Kasese town on 12th Oct as they prepare how to follow the SOPs as was directed by the ministry of health and the president.
Girevasio stressed that report indicates most schools children have been involved in sexual harassment acts which has driven them to become pregnant. He also condemned the parents for not taking a keen eye on their children during Covid 19 lockdown.
“Sometimes parents condemns us for not taking extreme care for their children forgetting that we do a lot of job to keep their children safe from men and sexual harassment.” Girevasio said
He mentioned that in just the last 6 month a total of 20,000 female children have been pregnant and others ran from their homes due to domestic violence.
He hailed the teachers for being good care takers children compared to their parents. He also stressed that the report has portrayed that school children are always protected whenever they are at school compared to being at home.
This came after 10 young mother from Buyoge sub country who had enrolled back to different schools showed how they have lost interest in their studies due to lengthy lockdown over covid 19
In February this year, Alliance for children and youth Uganda , NGO operating in Buyoge sub country mobilized young mothers who had been impregnated before completing senior four and they were enrolled back at the school of their choice.
Patricia Masika Bamwite, the child’s protection officer who also doubles as a project officer in charge of girls first fund, says the organization convinced a number of young mothers to go back to school within and outside the district before the lockdown announcement which she said might be different now.
According to Bamwite, since the government announced the lock down in March this year, the young mothers have been lured back into marriages by their husband, adding that those who have not been lured by their lovers have since disappeared from their homes.
Bamwite says the young mothers are slowly losing interest in going back to school as a result of the continued lockdown.
She explained that the organization had paid up all their fees to nil balance which money she says might be put to waste should the beneficiaries completely refuse to go back to school and complete their studies.
However, 30 of the young mothers who opted to enroll for vocational skill include hair dressing and tailoring for eight months have continued and their training in Kasese
The district is grappling with increasing cases of child abuse due to idleness among teenagers especially students who ate going through unplanned holidays because of the covid 19 pandemic according to the district education officer George Mayinja.
He added that lockdown came in situation that parents were not ready and this made most of parents to panic focusing on feeds forgetting their responsibility to take care children
He urged stakeholders to swim in and rescue the situation.
