Teachers get Shs100b
Selection. Secondary school teachers across the country select Senior One students at Mandela National Stadium, Namboole, last year. PHOTO BY RACHEL MABALA
What you need to know:
- Purpose. This is aimed at improving the environment of learning to groom future teachers.
Kampala. The Belgium government has given teachers across the country more than Shs102 billion (23m Euros) to improve the quality of secondary teacher education and strengthen the professional competencies of teacher trainers.
The donation that comes ahead of World Teachers’ Day next month, is intended to benefit teachers graduating from the five national teachers’ colleges in the country.
The money, which was yesterday handed over to the Ministry of Education officials and principals of colleges yesterday in Kampala through the Belgium Development Agency ‘Enable’, seeks to improve infrastructural development, ICT development and pedagogy component in the five colleges. The benefiting national teachers’ colleges include Mubende, Kaliro, Kabale, Unyama and Muni.
Need to re-train frequently
While handing over the grant, the resident representative, Ms Christelle Jocquet, said Ugandan teachers need to be re-trained frequently to improve the quality of education as well as improve the learning environment to groom future teachers.
“Although access to education has substantially increased over the years, there is a growing concern on the declining quality of education due to the massive influx of students in existing schools. In this context, providing teachers capable of delivering high quality education is crucial to improving the education sector. It is against this background that the Belgian government with the Uganda government has set up a teacher training education project to bridge the gap,” she said.
She explained that the Shs107 million from part of the money has been given to each college towards the improvement of infrastructure which shall include classrooms, dormitories for the students, and laboratories, among others.
Sharing dormitories
She said after receiving reports that training teachers in some colleges such as Kabale and Kaliro were sharing dormitories which had raised pregnancy rates, they planned to relocate dormitories to ensure that males and females are separated, alongside improving on their classrooms to create a conducive environment.
She explained that Shs8b has been directed towards the procurement of pedagogical guidelines to support the quality of teaching and learning within the colleges and partner secondary schools.
The head of principals forum, Mr Benjamin Turyahikayo, said they are optimistic that the money will help supplement the government’s capitation grant which has not been enough.
