The shocking learning assessment results within public schools in Mukono district have compelled stakeholders to ask the government to recruit more teachers to improve performance levels.
Stakeholders sounded an alarm during the dialogue organized by the ‘Child 2 Youth Foundation’ on basic education and learning using evidence from the Uwezo report 2021 focused on Mukono district.
Uwezo conducted a national assessment in August 2021 focusing on literacy and numeracy pegged on the primary two curriculum.
In answering the question of ‘how well can children read and count, by class in Mukono district?’ Uwezo found out that children in public schools do not perform to standard, very few children in Primary three can do Primary two work.
The assessment indicated that even by Primary five, almost half of the children (49%) cannot do Primary two reading and mathematics.
According to Stella Nambozo, a teacher at Lweza Primary School, the majority of public schools are overwhelmed by student numbers and to achieve the attention of all learners requires services from a co-teacher in the classroom.
“A co-teacher during class time can ensure the monitoring role to have learners attentive. Besides, teacher payments need to be increased to have them settle for careers rather than diverting some of their time for personal businesses during class hours.” Nambozo says.
Statistics at Mukono district chief administrative officer and the municipal town clerk indicate that at least three teachers resign from work every month amidst a vacuum of the district service commission, for now, three years to make replacements.
Meanwhile, parents are also concerned about their negligence to the proper growth of their children.
Lydia Namuli Kyeswa, a PTA member at Lweza Primary School says parents are supported by the government on school fees, they need to care about the diet of children.
On whether the boys and girls in the Mukono district can read words and do subtraction as the foundation to literacy and numeracy, the proportions indicated that children aged 4-16 in Uwezo samples were able to read words in English and do subtraction tasks (when presented in mathematical symbols).
However, they cannot read a text in the local language by class. Even for primary three who are supposed to be learning the local language, only 19% of them are competent in reading the local language.
The assessment further indicated that even in primary seven, there is a significant proportion (25%) that cannot read a text in the local language.
Susan Nampijja, the Uwezo coordinator at Mukono who also doubles as the Head of Social Work at Child 2 Youth Foundation, says while conducting the assessment, they realized that learners arrive late to school due to poor roads that are hard for them to traverse whenever it rains.
“On top of learners traveling long distances, some schools lack access to proper learning materials for both teachers and learners, and teachers also lack refresher training, and accommodation facilities at school to reduce absconding from duty.”
The Uwezo assessment in Mukono district was conducted in August 2021. Three hundred (300) households were randomly sampled from 15 enumeration areas.
A total of 465 children (244 boys and 221 girls) aged 4-16 participated in the assessment conducted by 30 citizen volunteers.
Emmanuel Mafabi, a Trainer at Uwezo Uganda says they have lately combined efforts with different partners in various districts to continuously engage the district stakeholders in areas of improving learning for children. In Mukono, Uwezo is partnered with the Child to Youths Foundation.
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