The Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) party has called upon parents to integrate holiday makers into family life to keep them focused and helpful in family work to keep them productive during their holidays.

During the party’s weekly press release that took place on August 21, 2024, at the party headquarters at Uganda House, Kampala, the party Head of Communication and Media, Faizo Muzeeyi noted that the best way to keep holiday makers focused is to integrate them into family routine work like gardening, poultry, livestock keeping, and craft making to keep them productive.

“UPC is fully aware of all these related challenges for our children during holidays, and therefore, we urge parents to take a keen interest in monitoring and nurturing them while at home during this short holiday. Keeping them up with routine family work will help holidaymakers to be more balanced, exposed, and love the environment, hence graduating as responsible citizens,” he noted.

Muzeeyi added that UPC takes note that some of the holiday makers get carried away into negative social behavior, including drug abuse, stating that in turn, drugs can become addictive and quite expensive for a dependent like a student to sustain, thus triggering other means of raising funds to practice the vice.

“Our society is faced with the issues of drug abuse, early child pregnancies, marriages, and child labor. Parents should take keen interest in knowing their children and seeking counsel on how to keep them out of danger, which has the potential to spread HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases to both girls and boys,” he added.

Schools in Uganda closed for the second term holiday break on August 16, 2024, with most schools expected to open up for the third term on September 23, 2024. Holidaymakers are encouraged to engage in productive activities beyond education during the short holidays.