The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni has called for the construction of simple, cost effective structures at the institutions of learning that will leave room for the expansion and accommodate more students.
“Let us plan, prioritise and resolve the issue of constructing simple and cost effective schools that will cover everybody instead of building storied flats that are very expensive,” he said.
The President made these remarks on Saturday at Teso College Aloet West Wing, while officiating the commissioning of the Alumni Library and E-Learning Centre that cost over Ugx 700 million that was solicited by the school alumni.
President Museveni launched the construction of the Alumni Library on the 26th July 2015 and commissioned the structure on Saturday 26th March, 2022.
While expressing his gratitude to the Aumni of Teso College Aloet for their initiative, the president observed that though old schools were founded along denominational lines and later taken over by the government, they played a big role in producing resourceful persons as was seen by the alumni present at the function.
“Modern Education was initially spearheaded by churches supported by colonial governments like Buddo, Kisubi, Mwiri and Nyakasura were all church founded. In the East there was St. Peters Tororo, Ngora High School and others,” he said.
The President further gave an account of the old schools that were founded by government and were very few like Teso College Aloet, Sir Samuel Baker, Ntare and Butolere.
He pointed out his government’s strategy of constructing a secondary school at every sub-county and added that the old schools that played a big role in the education sector had to be refurbished.
“Along the way we saw that old schools needed attention one of them was Masaba SSS,” he said.
President Museveni said following the fund raising drive organized by the management of Masaba SSS he noted that the rehabilitation exercise would not go far and proposed to develop a program that would see the old schools in the country rehabilitated and expanded at the cost of ug. Shs. 500 million that was required at Masaba SSS.
He however attributed the delay of the rehabilitation of the old schools to poor planning by the Commissioners in the Education Ministry who preferred to build expensive storied structures.
He therefore called on all concerned to plan for simple structures that can be spread all over the country and are cost effective.
The President later pledged to provide computers to the Alumni library of Teso College Aloet.
Awards were given to some of the Alumni of Teso College Aloet for their distinguished service to the nation and among them the recipients was the PPS to the President Dr. Kenneth Omona.
The Vice President Hon. Jessica Alupo pointed out that it was during her time of stewardship in the Education and Sports Ministry that President Museveni mooted the idea of refurbishing old schools in the country and Teso College Aloet was one of the beneficiaries.
She appreciated Mrs. Janet Museveni for continuing with the project of building the human resource by constructing more schools in the country.
The Minister of Education and Sports Mrs. Janet Museveni in her message presented by the State Minister for Sports Hon Dennis Obua thanked the President for the construction of 117 seed secondary schools spread throughout the country and of which seven are in Teso sib-region.