Parents, teachers clash over ‘difficult’ homework questions

LWENGO.

As the world marked the international Drop Everything And Read (dear) Day, parents in Lwengo District used the platform to criticise teachers who send home pupils with complex homework questions that are hard for them to comprehend.
Parents complained that it has become a habit for teachers to send learners home with complex “take-home” questions, some of which are to be answered by them regardless of their education levels.
Some of these questions, parents said, are way ahead of the syllabus.
Mr Sulaiman Kato Lubega, the Kabalungi Village chairperson, observed that it is demeaning to them as parents to be asked to help children in answering complex questions which they end up failing.
The arguments arose during last Thursday’s education stakeholders’ dialogue held at Kabalungi Primary School under the mobilisation of Masaka Green Light Impact Program (Maglip), organised as part of activities to reflect how to improve on the reading culture among children.
Meanwhile, the pupils also accused their teachers of heaping them with too much homework packages which they undertake on top of home chores.
“It becomes too much work for us since we again have to rush back to school,” one of the pupils said during their panel discussion.
About 200 pupils from the different primary schools in the district, who attended the symposium, raised a common voice to both parents and teachers, requesting that they are handled with sympathy.
But Ms Sumaya Namutebi, on behalf of fellow teachers, denied accusations of asking parents to help pupils in answering take-home questions, arguing that they are only expected to remind children to do the exercises and probably supervise them closely.
The Lwengo District inspector of schools, Mr Joseph Mulumba, condemned the teachers for issuing take-home exercises to pupils which they cannot mark.
“The practice kills their morale and at one time you will find that pupils don’t do their homework,” Mr Mulumba said.