Joint appeal to teachers from Uganda National Teachers’ Union and UNICEF

The country is facing a second wave of COVID-19. Although COVID-19 is a health pandemic, its impact has been most devastating on the education sector. One of the measures to control the spread of the COVID-19 in Uganda was the closure of all educational institutions for 42 days from 7th June 2021. The education of over 15 million Ugandan learners has already been disrupted for over a year since March 2020. Unless we create a safe environment for reopening education institutions by the end of the current restrictions, there is a high risk that the learning of 15 million students will be further disrupted with profound implications for the future of the learners and the society. Additionally, unless we all act to adopt the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent COVID-19, there is no guarantee that the current second wave will be the last resurgence of the virus or that it will end soon.

In recognition of the critical role that teachers play to secure the future of Ugandan children, the Government of Uganda included teachers among the top priority groups for the COVID-19 vaccination- along with the lifesavers - the frontline health workers. Unfortunately, only 110,000 of the targeted 550,000 teachers have taken the vaccine. Over 80 per cent of the teachers are yet to receive a single dose of vaccine. If schools are to reopen, it is important that the remaining 440,000 teachers get vaccinated as soon as the vaccines are available. All non-teaching staff and learners aged 18 years and above in the schools should also be vaccinated.

For this reason the, Uganda National Teachers’ Union and UNICEF are issuing a joint appeal to all teachers to protect themselves and make schools safe for our children to learn.

Schools have, in many instances, been the safe space in the community for children. Let us make it a safe space against COVID-19 too. Here is our four-point appeal to both government and all teachers.

First, we urge all teachers to actively seek and get the vaccination- as new supplies of vaccine become available.

Secondly, we urge headteachers and teachers to work with the School Management Committees to ensure that their schools follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the safe reopening and operation of schools. As we have seen, neglecting the Standard Operating Procedures at schools can have devastating consequences for the learners, teachers, support staff, and parents.

Thirdly, we urge the government to continue prioritizing the vaccination of teachers and to provide the necessary support in terms of human and financial resources for the urgent vaccination of the teaching and non-teaching staff and learners at specific venues and for implementation and monitoring of standard operating procedures in schools/ education institutions.

Lastly, we urge all teachers to use their capacity as educated members of the society to save themselves and the country from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teachers can play a critical role in preventing the spread of the virus. Therefore, we call upon ALL teachers to be change agents in their communities by encouraging people to observe the simple measures of maintaining physical distance, wearing masks, frequently washing or sanitizing hands, and not sneezing or coughing without covering the mouth. Please be role models in encouraging people to get vaccinated. These simple measures will stop the spread of the virus and protect everyone. Nobody is safe until everybody is safe.

Let’s do our part to make sure that our schools reopen safely. Together we can beat COVID-19!