Prime
Forego alcohol and buy food containers for your children – First Lady advises
First Lady and Minister of Education, Ms Janet Museveni. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Ms Museveni, who is on a nationwide radio tour to popularize the school feeding campaign, was on Tuesday hosted on Radio Buddu, a local radio station in Masaka Town, where she said some fathers engage in drinking alcohol and forget about the needs of their children, yet it is their role as parents.
- When asked why the government doesn’t shoulder this responsibility or subsidize lunch, Ms Museveni said the government has a lot of responsibilities including, building classrooms, training more teachers, buying instructional materials, which she said consume a lot of money.
First Lady and Minister of Education, Ms Janet Museveni, has castigated fathers who drink alcohol at the expense of their children’s basic needs, especially lunch at school.
Ms Museveni, who is on a nationwide radio tour to popularize the school feeding campaign, was on Tuesday hosted on Radio Buddu, a local radio station in Masaka Town, where she said some fathers engage in drinking alcohol and forget about the needs of their children, yet it is their role as parents.
“ I appeal to you, the fathers to at least to forego alcohol for two days and use the money to buy containers for your children and pack for them lunch at school,” Ms Museveni said in her closing remarks on the one-hour talk show.
She noted that she was happy to hear that a big percentage of schools implementing the government free education scheme in Masaka offer lunch to pupils. She, however noted that some schools do not, thus compelling her to bring her campaign in Masaka.
"These [pupils] are our future leaders and I cannot see them study on empty stomachs.”
The minister said it is entirely parents’ responsibility to cater for their children's needs, like food, and basic clothes.
She wondered how parents expect good grades from children who spend a whole day at school without a meal.
“This is why I'm on this noble campaign as a minister of education to ensure that learners perform well, but this cannot be realized when children do not eat lunch at school," she added.
She said parents received confusing messages from government and misinterpreted the Universal Primary Education policy, believing that government was supposed to provide everything to their children including lunch.
When asked why the government doesn’t shoulder this responsibility or subsidize lunch, Ms Museveni said the government has a lot of responsibilities including, building classrooms, training more teachers, buying instructional materials, which she said consume a lot of money.
“This is why I want to encourage parents to ensure food security at home to feed their children. And they should not just grow one type of food, but have a variety to enable their children have good health, because they are still growing and need to feed well.”
