At The German School Uganda, we are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, store, and safeguard your data when you interact with our services, website, and facilities.
We comply with the Data Protection and Privacy Act of Uganda (2019) and align our practices with international standards including the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As an institution preparing students for German-speaking countries, we understand the importance of robust data protection.
This policy applies to all students, prospective students, website visitors, and anyone who interacts with The German School Uganda. We encourage you to read this policy carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal data.
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact our Data Protection Officer at [email protected].
The German School Uganda ("we," "our," or "us") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our educational services, visit our website, or interact with us in any way.
Data Controller: The German School Uganda is the data controller responsible for your personal data. Our contact details are provided in Section 13 of this policy.
Scope: This policy applies to all personal data we process, whether collected directly from you, from third parties, or generated through your use of our services.
We are committed to handling your personal data with transparency, integrity, and care. We will never sell your data to third parties and will only use it for the purposes clearly outlined in this policy.
We collect various types of personal data to provide our educational services effectively. The specific data we collect depends on your relationship with us (student, prospective student, website visitor, etc.).
2.1 Personal Identification Information:
2.2 Contact Information:
2.3 Educational Information:
2.4 Financial Information:
2.5 Technical Information (Website & Online Platform):
2.6 Communication Data:
We collect data directly from you (through forms, applications, contracts), from third parties (examination bodies, payment processors), and automatically through our website and online learning platform.
We use your personal data for specific, legitimate purposes related to providing our educational services. Below are the main purposes for which we process your data:
3.1 Educational Services:
3.2 Administration & Operations:
3.3 Legal & Compliance:
3.4 Communication & Marketing (with consent):
3.5 Quality Improvement:
We will never use your personal data for purposes incompatible with the reasons we collected it. If we need to use your data for a new purpose, we will inform you and explain the legal basis for the processing.
Under data protection laws, we must have a valid legal basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following legal bases:
4.1 Contractual Necessity: Processing is necessary to perform our contract with you (enrollment agreement) or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
4.2 Legal Obligation: Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject.
4.3 Legitimate Interests: Processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
4.4 Consent: You have given clear consent for processing your personal data for one or more specific purposes.
4.5 Vital Interests: Processing is necessary to protect your vital interests or those of another person (rare circumstances).
Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time by contacting us. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal. However, it may affect our ability to provide certain services to you.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties. We only share your data in the following limited circumstances:
5.1 Examination Bodies: We share necessary information with official examination bodies (Goethe-Institut, telc Deutsch, TestDaF, ÖSD) to register you for certification exams and issue certificates.
5.2 Payment Processors: We share payment information with secure payment service providers to process transactions.
5.3 Service Providers: We engage third-party service providers to support our operations. These providers are contractually bound to protect your data and use it only for specified purposes.
5.4 Legal Requirements: We may disclose your data if required by law, regulation, court order, or governmental request.
5.5 Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your data may be transferred to the acquiring entity. We will notify you of any such change and any choices you may have regarding your data.
5.6 With Your Consent: We may share your data with third parties when you have given explicit consent to do so.
All third parties who receive your data are contractually obligated to protect it in accordance with data protection laws. They may only use your data for the specific purposes we authorize and must implement appropriate security measures.
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
6.1 Retention Periods:
6.2 Data Deletion: When data reaches the end of its retention period, we securely delete or anonymize it. You can also request deletion of your data at any time, subject to legal retention requirements (see Section 8).
6.3 Anonymization: Where possible, we anonymize data for research and statistical purposes. Anonymized data cannot be linked back to you and is not considered personal data.
We regularly review our retention periods and delete data that is no longer needed. If you believe we are holding your data longer than necessary, please contact our Data Protection Officer.
We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect it against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, destruction, or accidental loss.
7.1 Technical Measures:
7.2 Organizational Measures:
7.3 Data Breach Procedures: In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will:
While we implement robust security measures, you also play a role in protecting your data. Please keep your login credentials confidential, use strong passwords, and notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.
Under data protection laws, you have several rights regarding your personal data. We are committed to respecting and facilitating these rights:
8.1 Right to Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how we process it.
8.2 Right to Rectification: You have the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
8.3 Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You have the right to request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances, such as when the data is no longer necessary for the purposes collected or when you withdraw consent.
8.4 Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances, such as when you contest the accuracy of the data.
8.5 Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller.
8.6 Right to Object: You have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests or public interest tasks, including profiling.
8.7 Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
8.8 Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority (Personal Data Protection Office of Uganda) if you believe your data protection rights have been violated.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Data Protection Officer at [email protected]. We will respond to your request within 30 days. Some rights may be subject to exceptions or limitations under applicable law.
Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyze website traffic, and personalize content.
9.1 What Are Cookies? Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They help the website remember your preferences and improve functionality.
9.2 Types of Cookies We Use:
9.3 Managing Cookies: You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:
9.4 Impact of Disabling Cookies: If you disable cookies, some features of our website may not function properly, and you may need to manually adjust preferences every time you visit.
9.5 Do Not Track: Some browsers have a "Do Not Track" feature. We currently do not respond to Do Not Track signals, but we respect your cookie preferences as set in your browser.
When you first visit our website, we display a cookie banner asking for your consent to non-essential cookies. You can change your preferences at any time through our cookie settings or your browser.
Our courses are primarily designed for individuals aged 16 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16 years of age without verifiable parental consent.
10.1 Students Under 18: For students between 16 and 18 years old, we require written consent from a parent or legal guardian before enrollment. The parent or guardian must accept this Privacy Policy on behalf of the minor.
10.2 Students Under 16: We offer specific youth programs for students under 16. In such cases, we collect data directly from the parent or legal guardian, who is responsible for providing accurate information and consenting to data processing on behalf of the child.
10.3 Parental Rights: Parents or legal guardians have the right to:
10.4 Discovery of Underage Data: If we discover that we have collected personal data from a child under 16 without proper parental consent, we will take immediate steps to delete that data.
Parents and guardians are responsible for monitoring their child's use of our online platform and ensuring compliance with our terms. We encourage open communication between parents, guardians, and children about online safety and privacy.
As an institution preparing students for German-speaking countries, some of your data may need to be transferred internationally. We take appropriate safeguards to ensure your data remains protected.
11.1 When Transfers Occur: International transfers may occur when:
11.2 Safeguards: For all international transfers, we ensure:
11.3 Your Rights: You have the right to request information about the safeguards in place for international transfers of your data. Contact our Data Protection Officer for details.
Given our focus on German language education, we maintain particularly high standards for data transfers to EU/EEA countries, ensuring compliance with both Ugandan law and GDPR requirements.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or operational needs.
12.1 Notification of Changes: We will notify you of material changes to this policy through:
12.2 Effective Date: Changes take effect on the date indicated in the "Last Updated" field. Continued use of our services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
12.3 Historical Versions: We maintain historical versions of this policy. If you need to review the policy as it existed at a specific date, please contact us.
12.4 Consent to Changes: For significant changes that affect how we use your existing data, we may seek your explicit consent before implementing the changes.
We review this Privacy Policy annually or whenever there are significant changes to our data processing activities, legal requirements, or business operations.
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us using the information below:
Data Controller:
The German School Uganda
Kampala, Central Region
Uganda
Data Protection Officer:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +256 700 000 000
General Inquiries:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +256 700 000 000
Supervisory Authority:
If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy concerns, you have the right to lodge a complaint with:
Response Time: We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 14 business days. For formal data subject requests (access, deletion, etc.), we will respond within 30 days as required by law.
Our Data Protection Officer is available to answer your questions, address your concerns, and help you exercise your rights. Don't hesitate to reach out - your privacy is our priority.
A quick overview of the main types of personal data we handle and their purposes.
Information that identifies you as an individual:
Information about your learning journey:
Information related to payments:
Ways we can reach you:
Information from your devices:
Records of our interactions:
Understanding your rights empowers you to take control of your personal data.
Request a copy of all personal data we hold about you, along with information about how we process it.
Request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.
Request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances ("Right to be Forgotten").
Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances, such as when you contest data accuracy.
Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format and transfer it to another controller.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including profiling and direct marketing.
Withdraw your consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
Lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority if you believe your rights have been violated.
Common questions about our privacy practices and your data protection rights.
We collect personal data including your name, email address, phone number, date of birth, nationality, identification documents (ID/Passport), educational background, payment information, attendance records, and learning progress data. For online students, we also collect IP addresses and device information for platform access.
Your personal data is used for course administration, communication, payment processing, certificate issuance, academic record-keeping, legal compliance, and (with your consent) marketing communications about new courses and special offers.
We do not sell or rent your personal data. We share data only with examination bodies (Goethe-Institut, telc, TestDaF, ÖSD) for certification purposes, payment processors for transaction processing, and legal authorities when required by law. All third parties are bound by data protection agreements.
Student records are retained for 5 years after course completion for academic verification purposes. Payment records are kept for 7 years as required by tax law. Marketing data is retained until you withdraw consent. You can request deletion of your data at any time, subject to legal retention requirements.
You have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict processing, and port your personal data. You can also object to processing and withdraw consent for marketing at any time. To exercise these rights, contact our Data Protection Officer at [email protected].
Yes, our website uses essential cookies for functionality, analytics cookies to understand website usage, and marketing cookies (only with your consent). You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings or our cookie consent banner.
Our Data Protection Officer is here to help. Contact us anytime with questions about your data or rights.
Contact DPO → General Contact