The Ministry of Education plans to phase out boarding sections in public schools
as a way of creating room for the increasing number of students joining
secondary education.
According to the Minister of Education, Dr. Charles Murigande, the
government’s is building more schools across the country. This, he said, will
boost the phase-out since students will be able to enroll into schools close to
their homes.
“The resources that have been used for boarding sections in our schools are
going to be used in facilitating the education of more children,” said Muligande
adding that there are currently over two million pupils in primary who are
waiting to join secondary.
While addressing journalists, last week, the minister said that parents
should stop thinking that children learn more while in boarding schools.
“That is not true. It rather leads to incurring a lot of unnecessary costs on
the side of the parents and the government as well, since maintaining these
sections is expensive,” the Minister said.
He, however, made it clear that there was no law abolishing boarding sections
and said that if someone wishes to establish a private school with a boarding
section, there would be no problem.
“If a parent feels that his or her child is well off in a boarding school,
they can go ahead and take them there,” he explained.
In 2008, government introduced the Nine Year Basic Education (9-YBE), where
every child would be assured of nine years of free education. A mass campaign of
constructing classrooms and bringing schools near to the children began in 2009.
The Government is set to increase the number of years for free education to 12.
By Charles Kwizera
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