First Lady Janet Commissions Bukere Secondary School for Refugees

The Education minister and First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni has on Friday commissioned Bukere Secondary School in Kyaka II Refugee Settlement, Kyegegwa district.

The fully-fledged school accommodates over 500 students from the refugee camp and the host community. Janet said that education is a major intervention in the settlement of refugee communities because “it provides hope to the families, brings a sense of normalcy to their lives, and gives the children a stable foundation so that they can achieve their full potential.”

“Uganda remains one of the countries that hosts the greatest number of refugees at any given time with numbers going beyond one million. It's estimated that 60% of that population in Uganda are children under the age of 18 years who require education services,” Janet said.

Bukere Secondary School was constructed in Kyaka refugee settlement by Finn Church Aid (FCA) with funding from the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

During lockdown, FCA ensured that over 70,000 children at all levels could continue learning by providing home learning/self-study materials developed by the National Development Curriculum Centre (NCDC) to students. Children from vulnerable families were supplied with radio handsets and, teachers conducted live radio lessons. Home learning was further supported by small community learning groups and home visits.