Uganda police force has warned parents against leaving children to walk to school on their own. Addressing a press briefing at the Central Police station in Kampala this morning, police spokesperson CP Fred Enanga said children below 10 years lose their lives while walking to school.
“We have noted that most children who lose their lives are those walking on foot and you find they are knocked by boda bodas and so on and so forth. It is important that parents who have such young children 10 and below, to get helpers to transport these children to school because of the recklessness. Sometimes they find themselves in the path of moving traffic which is something that is not good” Enanga warned.
He adds that with the increase in cases of kidnaps, children should be escorted to school by adults too and from school.
Today, children are returning too school for the 2019 academic year after a long holiday that started early December last year.
Now, Enanga says such long holidays come with serious issues including sexual abuse of children. He called upon teachers, matrons and school nurses too try engaging them and offering all kinds of help, as some children decide to keep such to themselves.
“We have noted that this is something that upon arrival at school they try to open up to their teachers and administrators. So we are encouraging teachers and nurses to respond with care and urgency while handling children who could have been victimized during the holidays and to further work with police and social workers to find a way to help these young children heal from the wounds of abuse” he said.
He encouraged school authority to interrogate the children and find any information they could be concealing that could be used too help them our of such problems.
The police mouthpiece further warned parents that there are some items prohibited from nachos and should not be carried a long especially by children in boarding schools. He encouraged school administrators to conduct thorough inspections especially 0pn the reporting day and beyond t0p ensure that the off limit items are not smuggled into the school.
The items include; polythene bags, selected electrical gadgets like video games as well as flammable materials like candles and lighters which he says are major fire hazards. He also asked schools to check for drugs, alcohol, energy drinks, glass bottles, unnecessary cash and expensive items and anything else deemed illegal for the age of these children.
