By John Mapambano
Parents and teachers have been warned that sending children to school during active storms could prove deadly, as lightning strikes continue to claim the lives of pupils walking to and from school.
Safety experts say the daily journey to school has become increasingly dangerous during the rainy season, with children exposed to open paths, flooded routes and unsafe shelters where lightning can strike without warning.
The alert by the African Centres for Lightning Education Network (ACLENet) comes amid growing concern over a spike in lightning-related injuries and deaths during heavy rains.
“Surviving school starts with staying safe during dangerous weather conditions,” the organisation said in a safety advisory circulated to schools, parents and community safety advocates.
ACLENet is urging parents and teachers to take responsibility by delaying school travel whenever storms are ongoing, warning that no lesson is worth a child’s life.
The advisory cautions pupils against walking through puddles, rivers and flooded paths, gathering outdoors, or seeking shelter in unsafe structures during thunderstorms.
“Protect your life first; lessons can wait until storms are over,” the message reads.
The warning follows a recent tragedy in western Uganda, where two primary school pupils were struck and killed by lightning while walking back to school after lunch in Bushenyi District.
The victims, Maria Ainembabazi, 7, and Augustine Ainomukama, 10, both pupils of St. Mary’s Primary School in Kyamuhunga, were struck near a church just days ago.
Police spokesperson SP Apollo Tayebwa urged the public to strictly observe lightning safety precautions, emphasizing that such incidents are preventable with proper awareness.
In a separate incident in Oyam District, a primary school teacher, Joseph Ebwanga, was struck by lightning during an afternoon lesson, leaving 18 pupils injured. The injured pupils were rushed to nearby health facilities for treatment.
Experts estimate that between 20 and 50 lightning-related deaths and injuries occur annually across Africa, making lightning a significant but often overlooked public safety threat.
In Uganda, schools, farms and open settlements remain especially vulnerable due to limited lightning protection infrastructure.
Many schools still lack lightning arrestors, leaving classrooms and playgrounds exposed during storms, despite ongoing government efforts to install protective systems.
Safety experts are now calling for stronger measures, including installing lightning conductors in schools, increasing public awareness, and removing taxes on safety equipment to make protection more accessible.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister has already warned of heavy rainfall and possible floods across several regions of Uganda, raising further concern over weather-related risks to school children.
ACLENet says it has installed lightning protection systems in several schools, but vandalism and poor maintenance have undermined their effectiveness.
To address this, the organisation is working with schools to establish safety committees involving teachers and students to promote awareness and safeguard installed systems.
As rains intensify, experts stress that preventing further tragedy starts with simple decisions at home and school.
Delaying a journey, they say, could mean the difference between life and death.
