Schools on Study Trips Ordered to Report to Police Stations

What the report says

Nile Post reports that Uganda’s Ministry of Education and Sports has ordered schools whose learners are already away on study trips to report immediately to the nearest police station for guidance. The directive follows the fatal Kapchorwa school bus crash involving learners from King David Junior School, in which 21 learners and five staff members died.

Acting Education Minister Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo announced the measure on Friday during an inter-ministerial briefing after the accident. According to the report, police have been assigned to coordinate the safe return of learners who are currently on tours. The ministry has also suspended, until further notice, all educational trips and study tours that require road travel, whether within Uganda or across national borders.

Muyingo said the ministry had previously issued school-trip safety guidance in a circular dated May 16, 2025. Nile Post reported that the rules require schools to secure approval from governing bodies, evaluate the purpose and safety of trips, use roadworthy vehicles, avoid overloading, notify police before travel, and conduct journeys only between 6am and 6pm. The guidelines also bar nursery and kindergarten learners from taking part in school trips.

The ministry acknowledged that the Kapchorwa crash exposed weaknesses in enforcement. Muyingo said an inter-ministerial task force will be formed within seven days to draft broader regulations for study tours and educational travel. The wider government response involves education, transport, health, internal affairs and disaster preparedness officials, with the stated aim of investigating the crash and improving school transport safety standards.