The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Annet Among, has called upon the Ministry of Education and Sports to put up stringent measures that will discourage the current practice of transporting learners on trucks like livestock.
She issued these directives after the female Member of Parliament from Tororo, Sarah Opendi, voiced concerns at the plenary session on April 18, 2024, over the continued transportation of school-goers in these trucks.
According to Among, schools are bound for disaster if they continue to carry students in these unsafe trucks.
“Children are being transported in those cattle trucks, and you wonder which kind of school this is, and these vehicles have ended up getting into accidents, and people’s children end up dying. So, the Minister of Education really has to give guidelines to that effect,” said Among.
According to Opendi, even though the government banned the practice of transporting learners on trucks, the practice is still ongoing and will become more prevalent as schools prepare for athletic competitions.
“We have an issue currently, and I don’t want us to see children dying tomorrow, yet we clearly know that the government outlawed the transporting of children on trucks. We have seen schools still transporting children on trucks, and now that they are into sports competitions and championships being held at a national level, we will see children transported in trucks. We need guidance from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Education,” Opendi stated.
In September 2000, the Ministry of Education issued guidelines that, among others, banned the transportation of school-going children on trucks following a spate of road accidents.