Budo Tragedy, sheer negligence

Monday, April 14, 2008 will be stamped in our memories for a long time to come. It will be known as the tragic ‘Dark Monday’, when a cloud of doom and despair hang over Budo Junior School, taking with it the lives of some 20 young girl pupils.

The mysterious inferno at Budo Junior Primary School shows a lack of clear guidelines within the Ministry of Education. The school inspection policy has died out over the years.

Problems within the school inspection system could have largely contributed to the death of these 20 young girls who still had a lot to offer this nation.

In July 2001, government created the Education Standards Agency (ESA) as it restructured the Central Inspectorate Division at the ministry headquarters. The core function of ESA is to set standards for quality of education and monitor the achievement of such standards through inspection of schools for continual improvement in teaching and learning processes.

However, that ESA, which operates, as a semi-independent body with headquarters at Kyambogo exists largely in name and is thin on the ground. For instance, there is no direct functional linkage between ESA and District School Inspectors.

Owing to this institutional fracturing, ESA operates without giving or getting direct feedbacks to and from District School Inspectors.

It has no working relations with local political leaders, which observers say is bad for coordination

Subsequently, a combination of thin personnel and logistical constraints, hinder the school inspection activities of the agency. And so partly because of this, the awful living conditions at Budo went unobserved.

Mr. Francis Lubanga, the Permanent Secretary in the Education ministry however said it is unfair to criticise or fault his officials at the centre over any failings in school inspection because the responsibility of managing primary schools has since been devolved to districts. All the centre does, he said, is develop guidelines and circulate to respective officials for implementation.

“As far as government is concerned, all primary schools are supposed to be day schools,” the PS said adding, “It is the districts that determine which primary school operates as boarding schools based on available facilities”.

So who takes responsibility for the Budo inferno? It seems that everyone is shying away from the blame.

Likewise Education minister, Ms Namirembe Bitamazire has blatantly turned down calls from the public that she takes political responsibility and resigns.

“I have done my best and will continue to work,” she said.

Police detectives suspect the gruesome incident to be the handiwork of heartless arsonists although the school’s ten guards and Ms Damalie Basirika, the mother matron of the ill-fated dormitory have been arrested for probable culpability or criminal negligence as the weeklong investigations progress.

It is still unclear if the local health officials had permitted the pupils to be accommodated in a converted classroom. Again no clear policy exists on how many students should be housed in what type of dormitory facility, often resulting in overcrowding.

There is certainly negligence on the part of the Ministry of Education and the school management for this tragic incidence at Budo Junior School.

Maj. Gen. Kayihura said detectives were combing for evidence. “There is certainly criminal negligence,” he said. “It is a question of how far this chain will go: is there anyone who locked the doors? Where was the matron and who was responsible for all this? If there were problems at the school, why were the issues not raised at the PTA [Parents Teachers Association] meeting? The investigators will look into all these.”

I thought it’s the work of the Ministry of Education to ensure that all Ugandans get the best quality education, in a quality environment. Now how comes the Ministry is denying it’s responsibilities in times of tragedy.

For all its rich history, Budo Junior School mirrors the state of our primary and secondary schools in Uganda; very wretched! Children living in the most neglected of conditions, crowded in small rooms and using quadruple and triple-decker beds due to space constraints.

It is very apparent that there is something amiss in the education sector, one whose standards continue to dip year in year out.

The emphasis in our schools today is not so much about the study environment, but how well one passes, a factor that has led parents to disregard the kind of environment their children are groomed.

Despite of what happened, I strongly believe the forensic experts from the police and other agencies should be given a chance to do a thorough and dispassionate investigation, unfettered by emotional supposition. The findings of the investigation should provide the authorities with a basis for a national reform of the entire education system in this country.

Unfortunately, accidents will happen and claim young lives. There has been a series of them in the last years. And there will be more as long as we pursue the policy of business-as-usual after every tragedy. It needn’t be this way.

How many lives must we lose for us to act? The Ministry of Education must make policies about school buildings and administration and strictly enforce them to make sure our children are safe wherever they are. Shs 500,000 or any other amount cannot make a difference to a parent who could send his or her child to Budo.

In the past, investigations have been launched on the occurrence of school fires. However, no reports have been made to our country and more importantly, no preventive measures have been taken to ensure that such tragedies do not occur.

Now is the time for the minister to wake up and treat this matter with the urgency it deserves. Let the Budo fire be the last! Otherwise, we shall continue to lose lives on things that could easily be addressed.

(Associated Press Picture)