While speaking at the belated National Teachers’ Day celebrations at Kololo Independence Grounds on Tuesday, President Yoweri Museveni advised teachers and key players in the education sector to stop pressuring him to reopen schools.
Museveni also told the stakeholders to stop using threats while responding to Filbert Baguma, the head of the National Teachers Union who highlighted on challenges faced by both teachers and students during the closure.
Baguma noted that the continued closure of schools has increased pregnancy cases in teenagers who are locked up in their respective homes.
“We don’t need to be threatened… why do you threaten me?” Museveni said.
According to Museveni, schools will remain closed until January 2022 when all teachers and non-teaching staff are vaccinated against the deadly COVID-19.
“This (lockdown) time was for survival and I am proud that we shielded our people from dying,” Museveni said before adding that “In Brazil they have reached 600,000 deaths who died from corona. Here we have only seen 3000 deaths in one year and seven months. You think that is not important?”
Museveni added that no amount of lost time is greater than lost lives. He also told the teachers how he lost over 13 years while fighting for Uganda’s freedom.
“The problem is that some of you have not seen problems. I had to interrupt my life for 8 years in Tanzania fighting Idi Amin…Then 5 years in the bush; that’s a total of 13 years; we came back. Is anybody better off than myself, the one who lost 13 years? The thing was to survive; even if I lose time if there is such a big danger it’s better than dying.” Museveni said.
“When we went to fight, some of the children left school and joined us in the bush. When we came back after many years of fighting, we started a Kadogo school in Mbarara and called them to resume their abandoned studies. Many of them are doctors and what not.” He added.
The furious Museveni further cautioned the stakeholders to stop comparing pregnancies, lost time and jobs to life while insisting that schools will remain closed until next year.
“You cannot compare death with losing time, jobs, money, that is reversible, I can lose today tomorrow I will regain it. But death is irreversible.” Museveni said.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Sports, 60% of teachers have been fully vaccinated.
