HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I After more than three weeks of closure, King David Junior School in Ndejje, Wakiso District, is reopening its gates, but the return to school is being approached less as a resumption of ordinary lessons and more as the beginning of a long journey of healing.
The school has placed mental health counselling and spiritual support at the centre of its phased reopening, following the devastating July road crash in Kapchorwa District that claimed the lives of 22 pupils, five teachers and the school’s director, Tadeo Ssekadde.
The tragedy left the school community grappling with grief and trauma, prompting management to extend the initial closure period to give bereaved families, pupils and staff time to mourn and receive psychological support.
Healing before academics
Rather than immediately returning pupils to the normal classroom routine, the school has brought in professional counsellors to help children and staff process the trauma associated with the crash.
School officials have recognised that returning to classrooms after losing classmates, teachers and a school leader in such circumstances requires more than simply reopening the school compound.
The counselling programme is intended to provide pupils with a safe environment in which they can talk about their experiences, fears and grief, while staff are also being supported as they cope with their own losses.
The approach reflects growing recognition within education circles that psychological recovery must accompany the physical reopening of institutions affected by traumatic events.
The school has also incorporated spiritual healing into the recovery process.
On August 10, 2026, the institution held a special memorial Mass to honour and pray for the pupils, teachers and director who died in the crash.
The memorial was intended not only to remember those who died but also to provide a shared moment of comfort for pupils, parents, teachers and members of the wider school community.
Closure extended beyond initial plan
The reopening comes after management kept the school closed for longer than the initial two-week period discussed with local authorities.
The extended closure allowed families additional time to mourn and enabled the institution to put counselling and other support mechanisms in place before children returned.
The decision reflects the scale of the July tragedy, which turned what had been a routine school trip into one of Uganda’s most devastating school transport accidents in recent years.
For many returning pupils, the school environment itself may trigger memories of friends and teachers who will no longer be there.
Management has therefore opted for a gradual return rather than attempting to immediately restore normality.
Accident triggers national safety reforms
The King David tragedy has also prompted Government to tighten regulations governing school trips and educational tours.
Following the accident, the Ministry of Education and Sports suspended school trips nationwide as authorities reviewed existing guidelines on excursions and student transportation.
Under the revised approach, vehicles used for future school trips are expected to undergo stricter mechanical inspections through the Ministry of Works and Transport.
Drivers will also be required to obtain safety clearance, while planned school tours must receive approval from District Education Officers before they take place.
The measures are intended to address weaknesses in vehicle inspection, driver supervision, route planning and institutional accountability that can expose pupils to unnecessary risks during educational trips.
A school returning to a different reality
The reopening of King David Junior School therefore represents a difficult balance between restoring education and acknowledging loss.
For pupils who survived the crash and their classmates who were not on the trip, returning to school could bring a mixture of relief, anxiety, sadness and uncertainty.
Teachers, too, are returning to a workplace where several colleagues and their director are absent.
The presence of counsellors is expected to help the school identify children or staff members who may require continued psychological support beyond the initial reopening period.
The school’s emphasis on spiritual healing is similarly intended to give the community space to remember those who died while gradually rebuilding a sense of togetherness.
For parents, reopening is likely to bring both reassurance and concern. While education must resume, the tragedy has heightened questions about the safety of school excursions and the responsibility of institutions to protect children outside the classroom.
As King David Junior School begins its new term, the priority is therefore not simply to fill classrooms again.
It is to restore confidence, rebuild a grieving community and help children return to learning without ignoring the trauma they have experienced.
About the Author
