Two schools closed over Nyege Nyege festival

Authorities in Jinja District have temporarily closed Victoria Primary School and Summit Nursery and Primary School due to the ongoing Nyege Nyege Festival.

This was revealed by the Jinja District Education Officer, Haruna Mulopa, who told this website that they made this decision in order to keep the children safe.

“We don’t want the children to get exposed to immoral behaviours that may occur in that area. The school is surrounded by a golf club, the source of the Nile, rugby grounds, and the National Agriculture Showground, where the Nyege Nyege is taking place,’’ he said.

The festival began when the seven primary candidates were taking their final exams, according to Mulopa, who also stated that they had given the planners instructions to keep noise levels at a reasonable minimum.

“We had 219 pupils of Victoria Nile School sitting their final exams on Wednesday and Thursday, but on the day Nyege Nyege kicked off (Thursday), we intervened to avoid noise that would interrupt.”

Victoria Nile School, one of the schools that has been temporarily closed, has a total of 2,300 pupils.

One of the parents remarked, “We were not informed why applicants would sit for all those days while PLE examinations are only held on two days, thus the school was closed from November 6 to November 13 to allow candidates to take their final exams.”

There were no continuous educational activities at the school on Friday morning. Rather, revellers were skulking around the grounds, and vendors were operating outside the entrance.

On the other hand, the school administration has converted a portion of its property into a party parking lot, charging sh30,000 per car every day.

At Summit Nursery and Primary School, the director, David Wamboko, said they decided to close because they anticipated “immoral acts” that are likely to affect the pupils, who are all-day scholars.

“On Thursday, learning took place, but we thought it wise to close the next day because of jam, heavy security deployment, and indecent dressing by festival goers. We have never experienced this and don’t want to take anything for granted,’’ he said.

The festival which started on Thursday, November 9, 2023, is a four day event and is slated to end on Sunday, November 12, 2023.