The Acting Education Minister Dr. John Chrysostom Muyingo has suspended all school education tours across Uganda following Thursday night’s fatal bus accident that claimed the lives of 20 pupils and the director of King David Junior School, Ndejje, Makindye Division.
According to the Minister, the suspension takes immediate effect and will remain in place pending comprehensive investigations into the July 16, 2026 crash and the safety arrangements surrounding school excursions. He has directed Schools to refund parents of their trip money immediately.
In the last one week, there have been more than five accidents involving buses with students on trips.
Police confirmed on Friday morning that 21 people—20 pupils and one adult—had died following the accident at Chekwatit Village in Kapchorwa District.
The crash involved an Isuzu bus, registration number UA 108BQ, belonging to King David Junior School in Ndejje, Makindye Division, Kampala.
Kampala: The state minister for higher education Hon. Dr. JC Muyingo has said that Uganda shall never again close its education institutions because of a pandemic due to technological advancement.
The state minister made these remarks on 9th April 2022 in Johannesburg South Africa while touring the Huawei exhibition hall to see the smart education solutions for Africa.
Team Uganda with the State Minister for Higher Education Hon. Dr JC Muyingo
He also attended the Huawei ICT Competition Sub-Saharan Africa awards ceremony where he awarded three Uganda Students from Makerere University who took first position in Huawei ICT Competition Sub Saharan Africa 2021.
The event attracted various dignitaries such as the Minister of Communication and Digital technologies of South Africa Hon. Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of education Tanzania Hon. Eliamani Sedoyeka, Huawei Southern Africa President Mr. Chen Leo, and Director UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa Prof. Lidia Arthur Brito.
Hon JC Muyingo
Hon JC Muyingo who represented the government and awarded team Uganda made a key note address, where he thanked Huawei for supporting the digitalization efforts in the country more so the education sector.
Team Uganda in South Africa
“I thank Huawei Technologies for supporting digitalization efforts in the country generally, and more specifically for the support to the ICT initiatives focusing on the Education Sector. Government of Uganda is committed to upscaling and mainstreaming ICT in the delivery of Education as a measure to facilitate not only improved delivery and make continued learning more interesting, but also prepare for any eventualities in the future”, says Hon JC Muyingo as he makes his speech at the ceremony.
He noted that the ministry is working with the National council of Higher education and higher institutions of learning to accredit technology initiatives for long distance learning and smart education solutions.
VIPs representing different countries in Africa posing for a group photo
“We requested our National Council for Higher Education to work with our universities and accredit them to operate through Open and Distance e-Learning. Not all were able to operate during the lockdown, but many started building their capacity to offer on-line learning and to-date they have adopted and operate a multi-pronged approach to teaching and learning. I see opportunity here for capacity building, and I request all of us here to come together, share ideas and make the best use of this innovation and experience to improve our chances of success for use of digital solutions now, and for any future disruptions of learning in our respective countries,” he said.
On the global effect of covid-19 to education institutions and the way forward, Hon Dr. JC Muyingo noted that “The Corona Virus Pandemic presented the education sector with profound challenges especially within developing countries. No one foresaw the coming of this pandemic and the crippling effect it would have on our economies. In Uganda, fifteen million learners were out of school for two years, and our education sector, like most countries around the world, was forced to rethink the delivery of education. We were fully prepared for the move to online education delivery, and it is a big lesson learnt which the country is now aggressively addressing through a digital agenda strategy. With the broad experience that Huawei has developed over the years, I am confident that this partnership can help us to find more innovative solutions to these challenges that we are facing.”
Hon JC Muyingo delivering his remarks at the awards ceremony
“With the education solutions I have seen at the Huawei exhibition hall, never again shall we close our education institutions because of Covid-19 pandemic or any other pandemic,” he added.
At the same ceremony, Huawei launched its LEAP skills development programme. Announced at its ICT Competition Awards Ceremony, LEAP aims to help advance the ICT skills of more than 100 000 people across the Sub-Saharan Africa region within three years.
The LEAP programme, which stands for Leadership, Employability, Advancement and Possibilities, is aimed at fostering stronger digital leadership and a skilled ICT workforce, building a digital talent pool, and promoting digital literacy among citizens.
It includes a wide range of activities spanning from ICT training and certification courses, government digital capacity building and ICT skills competitions.
Kampala; The State Minister for Higher Education Dr John Chrysestom Muyingo has today launched the Huawei ICT Competitions 2021- 2022.
Hon. JC Muyingo the State Minister for Higher Education Launches the Huawei ICT Competition 2021-2022. He waves the Flag to signify the start of the competition
Launching the third edition of the competitions at Serena Hotel Kampala on Friday, Dr Muyingo lauded Huawei Technologies for working with the government of Uganda to promote the delivery of quality education through ICT.
“We partnered with Huawei for the Seeds for the future program and over the years we have always made it a point to play an active role in the implementation of the digital upskilling initiatives in schools and universities across the country,” the Minister said.
” The Corona Virus Pandemic has presented the sector with profound challenges. No one foresaw the coming of this pandemic and the crippling effect it would have on all sectors of the economy including Education. Over 15 million learners have been left at home and we have been forced to rethink the delivery of Education for our learners. With the broad experience that Huawei has developed over the years, I am confident that this partnership can help us to find more innovative solutions to these challenges which we are facing. I call upon you to begin exploring the possibilities for delivery of infrastructure that will bring our education sector up to speed with the dynamic changes and resulting challenges that have been presented by the 21st century,”he added.
Dr Muyingo further noted that as government they believe that the skills that are being imparted through programs such as the ICT Academy, ICT Competition and Seeds for the Future are relevant to our socio-economic development agenda.
” They act as a crucial platform for sharing the latest ICT technologies, enriching students’ work experience and equipping them with relevant skills for the dynamic world of work,” Dr Muyingo remarked.
“Government is committed to upscaling and mainstreaming ICT in the delivery of Education as a measure to facilitate continued learning during this lockdown. We have requested National Council for Higher Education to work with our universities and allow them to operate through Open Distance Education and Learning. I request all of us here to come together, share ideas and make this innovation a success even for post lockdown learning.”
Hon. JC Muyingo delivering his remarks at the Ceremony
At the same function, the Ugandan students who emerged winners in last year’s global Huawei ICT Competition were officially rewarded. At the Africa and global level the Network team of Uganda took first position, beating over 34 countries and 107 teams. As a result, the Ugandan team emerged as number one in the 2020 ICT Competitions at global level.
“Ithank Huawei for their commitment and look toward to even more partnerships of this kind (ICT Competition). I would like to also congratulate the students who represented Uganda last year at the ICT Competition and raised our flag high by taking first position globally. This shows that our education sector has not only improved but is now competitive globally and a force to be reckoned with,”Dr Muyingo added.
Hon JC Muyingo handing over the flag to Huawei MD Mr. Gaofei
On his part,Mr Yang Chen Frank, the Huawei Technologies Southern Africa Regional Vice President thanked the Government of Uganda for putting a good and peaceful investment climate that has enabled the global ICT service provider exist in Uganda since 2001.
“More thanks to the Ministry of Education and ICT for their constant support which has enabled us achieve not only our vision of bringing digital to every person, home and organization but also train and upskill Ugandans,” Mr Chen asserted.
“This is the result of aligning our local strategy with national strategies-this is a very important principle that we stick to when it comes to business and skill and knowledge transfer.A big thank you to the Government of Uganda for creating an enabling environment for digital skill cultivation and ICT talent development as the future now depends on various ICT skills,” Mr Chen said.
Mr Frank Yang Chen, delivering his remarks He said under the condusive investment environment, Huawei has been able to make some achievements including training over 2000 Ugandan Youths, certifying hundreds through its 15 ICT academies as of today
“Huawei’s ICT talent cultivation strategy in Uganda is flourishing while being sustainable due to a unique “learn-show-apply” structure, which provides not only training but also a global stage level to show capabilities and various internships and job opportunities to apply their skills. So Building Uganda’s ICT talent pool requires government-industry-university partnerships and collaboration that benefit all and reinforce each other to enable even stronger programs in a virtuous cycle.”
The Event was attended by Third Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Lukia Isanga Nakaddama (3rd left) who was the guest of honor
The annual Huawei ICT Competition is a key piece of the ICT Academy Rocks Campaign. It targets university and college students worldwide, aiming to facilitate communication between schools, enterprises, and governments while building a robust talent ecosystem.
Through this competition, Huawei aims to challenge the students ICT knowledge as well as the practical and application skills, and ultimately, inspire innovation with the theme of “connection, glory, future”.
After six years of development, The Huawei ICT Competition has become one of the biggest event of its kind in Africa. The competition covers latest technologies such as cloud computing, AI, mobile networks, big data, that are pertinent to students’ competitiveness in the job market.
Over the years on the African region, Huawei has signed cooperation agreements with over 250 universities in 14 Sub-Saharan countries on establishing Huawei ICT academies. This cooperation has enabled more than 7,000 university students to obtain Huawei ICT certification, which makes them better candidates for ICT-related jobs.InUganda, over 15 universities have signed which include, Makerere, Muni, MUBS, Soroti, Kabale, Kyambogo, Nkozi, Mbarara, KIU and IUIU.
Last year, Huawei held its second ICT competition in Uganda and global ICT company reached out to various universities where over 2500 students registered to take part.
And by the end of the highly competitive event, three University students representing Uganda; ShafficNyanzi and Emmanuel Kiguli from Muni and Doreen Nalwoga from Lira University emerged among the world’s best at the Global finals. This was the first time for Uganda to qualify for the global stage after taking first position at the Africa region final.
The three Ugandan students’ achievement was attributed to Huawei Uganda’s continued recognition and efforts to build a competitive ICT talent pool among the young generation, who will be an indispensable accelerator for Uganda’s post-COVID-19 recovery and digitization.
