Namutumba schools struggling to teach in Lusoga

Primary Seven pupils in the eastern Ugandan district of Namutumba cannot read a text in their local language (Lusoga), dealing a blow to a government policy.

The thematic curriculum, which was introduced by the Ministry of Education in FY2003/2004, requires pupils in Primary One to Primary Three to be taught in their mother tongues before taking on English in Primary Four, which is a transitional class.

It was hoped that the policy, which had been piloted and approved by researchers at both local and international levels, would improve the pupils’ performance, especially in Namutumba, which is one of the districts in Busoga Sub-region with high failure rates in the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE).

The Namutumba District Inspector of Schools, Mr Ronald Kirya, said the reason pupils are unable to read and comprehend a text in their mother tongue is mainly because their teachers lack basic teaching skills and the teacher-to-pupil ratio in lower primary schools is 1:180, which makes learning difficult.

“The foundation of our learners is being compromised by low staffing levels in schools,”  he said on Monday.
 Mr Kirya’s concerns are substantiated by findings of a 2021 study by Uwezo Uganda in partnership with the Nsinze Sub-county HIV/Aids Workers Association on literacy and numeracy in Namutumba District.

Among the key findings of the study were that 50 percent of Primary Seven pupils cannot read or comprehend a text in their mother tongue, while 83.6 percent of school-going children cannot do the same.

Also, Primary Three pupils are supposed to partly be learning in their mother tongue, the majority are non-readers of the local language.

Teachers, however, say instructing in the local language “is very hard”, while some learners “do not take it seriously” when they hear their teachers mentioning words in their mother tongue.

Ms Rita Nakirya, a teacher, said: “The (curriculum) books are there, but the government did not send enough copies...Since teaching in English is much easier than teaching in the local language, let teaching in the local language be optional for lower primary.”

The Principal Secretary in the Office of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Ms Kauma Kagere, said teachers have reportedly abandoned their jobs. 

“The government has played its part, but it is teachers who are not doing what is expected  of them,” she said.