By Frank Kamuntu
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has reiterated his call to Ugandans to support the government’s strategy of free education for all in government schools.
According to the President, this strategy has not been grasped by many actors, thus calling upon all the stakeholders to ensure that they follow up its implementation in the country.
“Our strategy was, how can we provide affordable education for all Ugandans because the schools we went to were schools for the elite where we had to pay money in the primary, in the junior schools and senior secondary. Those years the schools were few and the government was paying for us in the university,” the President said.
President Museveni who was accompanied by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Museveni, made the remarks on Sunday September 1st 2024, while officiating at the closure of Mothers Union Buganda conference at Timnah schools in Luwero district.
“If we want all our children to study, we can no longer use the old method. The biggest saving was to go from the boarding schools to day schools in primary and senior secondary schools so that you cut out the cost of accommodation, feeding, paying for utilities and others,” he noted.
The President further added that the strategy only requires the government to set up the necessary infrastructure such as constructing classrooms, computer libraries, science laboratories, houses for teachers and paying teachers.
“This means once this is done, the parents remain with only buying the school uniform for the child and providing lunch. Once we have a strategy which can work, we are saying that day schools are the only way the government can afford to educate everybody because they’re cheaper for the government,” President Museveni noted, adding that the continuous charging of fees in government schools increases school dropouts.
He gave an example of the 11 million children in the primary schools who by the time they join secondary school, they are only 2 million.
“Now where are the 9 million children who are not in school? We need to have consensus. Our proposal is to have UPE and USE government schools as day schools so that the government can concentrate on the infrastructure, paying teachers and so on,” President Museveni said.
On the other hand, President Museveni congratulated the women for being true Christians who understand all the four dimensions of the Christian life like Jesus. These are; preach the gospel, work, heal the sick and feed the hungry as they contribute to living with purpose and aiming to promote transformation within their families, communities and the nation at large.
“This is exactly what you have been doing here. Therefore, I’m very happy about this awakening as Christians because the Bible says: let your light shine before men so they see your good deeds and praise your father who’s in heaven- (Matthew 5:16). You cannot be a shining light in your village when you’re poor. Therefore, this is really the mission of Christians, they should be the example in everything including the welfare of our families,” H.E Museveni stated.
He also informed the gathering that as an active member of the Scripture Union in the 1960s in the north Ankole where the church of Uganda is very strong, he liked most the story of the talents in the Bible (Matthew 25:14–30) which tells of a master who was leaving his house to travel, and, before leaving, entrusted his property to his servants according to their abilities and he was happy with the one who multiplied them and was rewarded.
“The advice of the NRM for a long time now has been about household incomes through the 4-acre model,” President Museveni noted, stressing that the model encourages diversification, with one acre dedicated to coffee cultivation, another to fruit growing, the third to food crops for household consumption, and the fourth acre to pasture for livestock. He added that at the backyard, a farmer can rear poultry, piggery and fish farming in ponds for those near swampy areas.
He encouraged Ugandans to take advantage of the government programs aimed at fighting poverty like the Parish Development Model (PDM).
“For every parish, we’re sending Shs100 million every year which means Shs500 million in 5 years. This is a lot of money. And the idea is that you borrow and return after 24 months (2 years) and finish the loan in 36 months. So that if it was coffee, you would have started harvesting. Whatever you would have grown would have started reaping. And all of you come from a parish somewhere but many of you don’t mind to follow up what’s happening,” the President said, adding that the shs.1 million per family means 100 homesteads per parish per year and over 500 homesteads in 5 years if those that borrowed returned the money and is given to other homesteads.
He encouraged the Mothers’ Union to prioritise their needs and promised to buy for them a coaster bus in addition to shs 500 million to support their projects.
The 4-days conference gathered Women from six dioceses of Buganda region that included; Luwero, Mityana, Namirembe, Mukono, West Buganda and Central Buganda.
On her part, Maama Janet congratulated mothers upon organising a successful conference and underscored their importance in establishing stable families as safe havens for their husbands and children.
“God has honoured us with the mandate to raise children in His ways, as we instill in them Christian values, while equipping them with the necessary skills, to live socially and economically sustainable lives, within their communities. This is why this very relatable Conference theme drawn from 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 is timely,” Maama Janet said.
She further thanked the Mothers Union for their tireless efforts in modelling the younger generation through promoting positive parenting, while tirelessly advocating against the high rate of separation and divorce, that is so prevalent in the Church and society.
“Your work has made a significant impact in ensuring stable marriages, addressing the prevalence of teenage pregnancies and child marriages, as well as in raising a well-groomed and God-fearing generation. As mothers and guardians of this nation, I encourage you to expand these initiatives. This will help to protect our children and ensure that we raise a safe, resilient, and productive generation,” she noted.
As a Minister for Education and Sports, Maama Janet encouraged mothers to play a leading role in ensuring that all children are educated for free in the government schools.
She was also happy to learn that the conference included a health camp which she said is important in women’s health and expressed sincere gratitude to the organisers for what she termed as a very educative and enlightening Conference.
“Women’s health is incredibly important and should never be taken for granted. Maintain a balanced diet and incorporate regular exercise into your daily routines. Make it a priority to monitor your overall health through conducting regular health check-ups. Furthermore, as mothers, use your influence to ensure that the whole family embraces this culture of a healthy lifestyle,” the First Lady said.
According to organisers, the health camp focused on breast and cervical cancer screening, along with creating awareness about these diseases that impact the mothers of the nation. The camp also offered general body check-ups and distributed Maama kits to expectant mothers as well as mosquito nets to community members. This initiative ensured that both the conference participants and the local community received essential health services.
The President- Mothers Union Buganda, Ms. Josephine Kasaato thanked His Excellency Museveni and the First Lady Janet for improving the health sector in the country.
She said apart from farming skills, participants were also equipped with knowledge and skills in adding value to their agricultural products such as how to produce oil from avocados and carrots, and how to make fruit jam from pineapples.
“These skills are essential for extending the life of farm products and generating additional income. The conference also provided training in entrepreneurship skills where we covered topics such as product packaging and marketing, business registration and ensuring high-quality standards,” Ms. Kasaato said, adding that financial literacy and skilling were also key components of the training while empowering women to manage their finances more effectively and to join saving groups through which they can raise capital to grow their businesses.
The conference was also addressed by Rt. Rev. Wilson Kisekka, the 4th Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Luwero who appreciated President Museveni for supporting the Diocese.
Earlier, during a church service, Rt. Canon. James Sserugo, who was the main preacher, thanked President Museveni and the First Lady for being a good example of the family institution in Uganda by celebrating 50 years of togetherness in Marriage.
“Not so many Presidents have done that,” Canon. James Sserugo said.
Mothers’ Union Buganda is a Christian faith-based organisation made up of six Dioceses namely; Namirembe Diocese, Mukono Diocese, Luweero Diocese, Mityana Diocese, Central Buganda Diocese and West Buganda Diocese all with the role of raising Christian women in faith and guiding each other to transform their lives spiritually, economically, physically and socially.
The Mothers’ Union conference under the theme: “Working diligently towards Transformation and Sustainable Development of our Nation” inspired by 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, brought together women from all Dioceses to share ideas on how to improve their Christian lives, families, and communities.
The conference focused on the importance of hard work as a pathway to achieving economically sustainable and independent lives.
The ceremony was attended by Political Leaders, district leaders from Luwero, Security chiefs, among others.
