Members of Parliament have quashed President Museveni’s idea of distributing 2 TV’s per village following the extension of the opening of schools by the President on Tuesday, June 2.

“The President’s intentions are good and they would mean to benefit our young people but still, two Tv’s per village, it means people are going to gather and second of all, whose electricity are they going to operate on? Is it the chairman L.C.1 who is going to pay for this electricity?” Hon. Mpaka Rwamirama, Mbabarara youth MP wondered.

Relatedly, Rwamirama also wondered where the government was going to get this money from. He suggested that the government uses the money to buy food for the people instead of buying televisions.

“We have never seen even a sanitary pad. Now he talks of two TV sets. What’s the population of the pupils and students in the village? And what about the issues of social distancing? What about the issue of rural electrification?” Hon . Atim Joy Ongom, Woman Member of Parliament for Lira municipality also wondered.

“I think we need to rethink the strategy. It is not fine. But also, this teaching, there must be a moderator either a teacher or something. How many villages can have teachers to help those children?” Nathan Itungo, legislator of Kashari constituency said.

However, experts in the education system say that while this is a good idea, they are doubting it’s applicability considering the challenges in villages.

“Those in urban and town centres may have flat TV’s or screens but those in the villages may not have electricity to tap to this learning,” National secretary federation of Non-state agencies education institutions Patrick Kaboyo said. Kaboyo also maintains that the procurement process takes long. Adding that we the students have only one month and that if the public ever thinks about what has to be done within that one month until procurement and distribution of Tv’s and radios, it may take along time.

Kaboyo says that this should act as a wake-up call to the country to train teachers on the use of technology.

Background

President Yoweri Museveni made a U-turn on Tuesday, June 2 on the re-opening of institutions of learning as he had earlier on announced. Final year students and candidates were to return to classrooms on Thursday, June, 4 according to earlier projections.

However, after painstakingly deciphering the idea of resuming of schools for final year and candidate students, the government decided to stay the return for one more month from June, 1.

It’s against such a background that the President reasoned that students needed to continue with distance learning. The president, therefore, said that he was thinking about giving 2 TV sets to every village to allow continuity of learning even in the face of a pandemic.