How NIE has improved pupils’ performance

Kiswa Primary School pupils read NiE. The pullout has been key in improving literacy, especially among UPE schools. FILE PHOTO

When Monitor Publications launched Newspaper in Education (NiE) in 2015, the target was simple: To inculcate a reading culture among young pupils.

However, five years down the road the project has achieved more than it had bargained for assisting pupils to have progressive improvement in both academics and lifestyle.

NiE is a weekly pullout that is published every Monday in the Daily Monitor newspaper.
The pullout engages pupils, especially in Universal Primary Schools (UPE), through sponsorships from different organisations.

It allows pupils to have discussions in regard to academic excellence as well as giving them a platform through which they exchange ideas.

According to Edward Kayondo, a business analyst at Monitor Publications, based on the analysis of performance as registered by the Ministry of Education among primary pupils, there has been various contributing factors, among them newspapers.

He draws a comparison of two consecutive years – for example 2016 and 2017 – where there has been improvement in the performance of Primary Leaving Examinations, especially in UPE schools.

The contrast shows that in 2017, 8,289 pupils passed in First and Second Division compared to 7,096 in 2016.

Specific improvement
At regional level, pupils in First and Second Division in 2016 increased, showing marked improvement.

For instance, in the central region, more than 2,714 pupils out of 5,146 passed in First and Second Division while in eastern 1,959 pupils out of 4,272 registered similar grades.

Western Uganda had 1,167 pupils pass in First and Second Division out of 2,445 while north had 1,256 with similar grades out of 2,342 pupils.

Performance in 2017
In central 3,730 pupils out of 5,873 passed in First and Second Division while 2,309 pupils out of 4,279 had similar grades in eastern Uganda.

In the northern region 1,170 pupils out of 2,184 passed in First and Second Division while 1,082 out of 2,120 passed with similar grades in western Uganda.

Teachers in various schools attribute the improvement on the availability of teaching aides, especially those published in newspapers.
Apart from academic improvement, schools continue to see a growth in student numbers as a result of the availability of teaching aides.

This is partly attributed to sensitisation by government and efforts spearheaded by different publications such as NiE.

“The pullout [NiE] is read by all pupils at the school and sometimes there are articles that advise pupils to stay in school,” says Jackline Masika, a teacher at Burambagira Primary School in Kasese District.

The sensitisation, she says, has in return attracted children who have been reluctant to enroll into school to join.

She also says with the help of such material (NiE), they have seen growth in performance.
Messach Mutesasira, the head teacher of Misindye Church of Uganda Primary School in Mukono, agrees with Ms Masika, emphasising that since they started to receive NiE, there has been noticeable improvement in performance among pupils.

“NiE has enriched pupils’ knowledge. The frequent readership has developed their reading culture as well as improving their approach to questions. This has enabled pupils to perform better,” he says.

According to Hosea Tugume, a Primary Seven class teacher at Wairaka Primary School in Jinja, there is great appreciation of NiE because it has offered pupils a platform to improve as well as boosting their confidence.

“With [NiE], our pupils learn new words and they start to consult teachers in case there is anything they do not understand. This helps to improve their English proficiency as well as boosting their knowledge levels,” he says.

Farouq Kabugo, a teacher at Kyaliwajala Umea Primary School in Namugongo, says it is not only their school that benefits from NiE but also other schools in the neighbourhood.

“We use NiE during our free time to keep pupils busy by having them answer the questions, complete puzzles and find the new words which I believe helps them academically,” he says.

Experience from a pupil
Similarly, according to Kevin Ariko, a pupil at Kyaliwajjala Umea Primary School, NiE has been a serious contribution to her academics having passed in Second Division in the recently released PLE.

She says most of the topics that were in the newspapers (NiE) at least had a question and she does not regret taking her time to read it.

Through using NiE, she together with other pupils, formed discussion groups that revised different topics as well as drawing examples from the newspaper.
“At first we had focused our groups on winning prizes but we realised we could use the groups to enhance our academic excellence as well as boosting our knowledge,” she says.

About the pullout
What is NiE. Newspaper in Education is a pullout that was launched in 2015 by Monitor Publications. It is published every Monday and delivered to 209 Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools that are sponsored by different organisations such as MTN, ESKOM, ERNST &YOUNG, LACCODEF (Lira), MACDEF (Masindi) and PEAS. They are delivered to the sponsored schools every Monday. The pullout has a lot of content ranging from educative articles, puzzles and regular questions.