Uganda’s Ministry of Education and Sports on Monday dismissed claims that schools across the country have been closed or suspended because of Ebola cases.
The ministry in a statement categorised such reports widely circulated on social media platforms and through word-of-mouth conversations in recent days as false.
The reports had raised concern among anxious parents, learners, and school administrators.
The ministry has reassured them that there are currently no plans to shut down schools, urging the public to disregard the ongoing online speculation.
Addressing the growing public anxiety, the Ministry of Education Spokesperson, Dennis Mugimba, implored stakeholders to rely strictly on official communication channels.
“Please ignore videos and social media messages speculating about closures of education institutions of learning. Parents and heads of institutions are urged to remain vigilant and observe Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as guided by the Ministry of Health,” Mugimba stated in an official release shared on Monday.
He emphasised that members of the public must vet the information they consume and only trust updates disseminated by authorised Government of Uganda sources to avoid unnecessary panic.
The ministry’s clarification follows mounting tension among parents, many of whom feared a repeat of previous lockdowns.
With the school term underway, several parents expressed concern over potentially losing hard-earned school fees, drawing painful parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic several years ago.
MG/as/APA