PTC Update

Thanks everyone for sending your thoughts and prayers regarding the situation with the closing of Uganda's PTCs. Since I last wrote some things have changed - though with ultimately ending in the same result. Here's the timeline of the last few day's events:

10 June - Friday Morning
We were told to attend an 8 am assembly to send the students off. Once everyone is assembled, the principal shares with us that he received a text message in the morning saying to hold the students until tomorrow afternoon. (Hooray!) We don't know if they will stay for good, but we are excited to have some more time with them. Classes resume as normal on Friday and we teach all of the classes left in the day!

11 June - Saturday
We attend a service project in Kyotera, Rakai district. We get word from Peace Corps staff that the college closings are nothing but "rumors" and that they will continue to operate as normal. They tell us that nobody has authority to close the PTCs except the ministry of education itself.

12 June - Sunday
We arrive back from our trip to find all of the students still on campus. Things are looking good!

13 June - Monday
As Mondays are both of our big teaching days, we teach all of our classes throughout the day. The students are visibly overjoyed to still be attending school, though many of the tutors have already gone home.

14 June - Tuesday Morning
We wake up to a phone call from another PCV at a PTC in Northern Uganda. She tells us that her students are attending an assembly and will leave immediately following. Throughout the day, we exchange text messages with the other PTCs around the country hearing similar news. It doesn't look good.

14 June - Tuesday Afternoon
We notice that the students are all assembled and waiting for the Principal. We stand in the back and hear that the students are, in fact, leaving. They will head out tomorrow at 8. (Again!) But, we are quite certain the closure is happening this time. First year students are requested to do "Child Study" at a primary school near their home, and second year students should work on the packets we prepared for them to take home. Everyone (including us) is once again so disappointed!!!


So....We are back to where we started......and will keep you posted!

~emily~