Lockdown: Limited access to TVs and reading materials hampering learning process

It is Wednesday morning and Jacinta Katugume, 14, a primary seven pupil is looking at the newspapers being sold on Balya Road Fort Portal town. She is interested in the reading materials done by the Ministry of Education that are being inserted in the New Vision newspaper.

This was after she had moved from house to house looking for a TV set hoping she would be allowed to watch and therefore attend classes TV. Katugume hails from Mugoma village, Karambi Sub County in Kabarole District which is over 7 kilometres away from Fort Portal town. “Today (Wednesday) I have failed to get family with a TV set to help me attend class. I decided to walk to Fort Portal town to buy reading materials in the newspapers but unfortunately; I bought and I found one for O ’Level not for Primary Seven. I will come back tomorrow to check again,” she says.

Katugume, a pupil of Kindergarten Primary School in Fort Portal town, says she got the money to buy the reading materials from her parents. “I know others are studying from the television but for me at home we don’t have a TV set and our neighbours also don’t have; I can now only concentrate on revising my books as I wait for the schools to reopen,” she says.

Her story is similar to many other pupils and students who are currently at home trying to cope up with studying during the lockdown. On March 18th, President Museveni ordered the closure of all schools as one of the measures to stop the spread of Covid-19. Most schools had not completed the first term syllabus by the time learners went home.

Challenges with broadcast classes

On April 20, Ms Janet Museveni, the Education Minister, announced that the learners will be studying using radio and television programmes and that the ministry will dispatch learning materials to RDCs to be distributed to students. In an effort to keep the children busy and productive at home, a number of media houses have come up with academic programmes focusing on students in candidate classes of P7, S4 and S6.

In Tooro sub region, the learning on radio which had started on April 22nd and ended abruptly on April 26th had attracted many questions from both parents and students on its effectiveness. The programme that aired on Voice of Tooro located in Fort Portal town was meant to help learners in the districts of Kabarole, Bunyangabu, Ntoroko, Kamwenge, Kyenjojo, Kyegegwa and Kitagwenda. Parents however argued that the radio network was poor in some places.

On April 28th, the Kabarole District Education Officer Mr Patrick Rwakikaira said the Ministry of education halted the radio learning programme saying they are now planning to use UBC radio. This means that the remaining option is currently using the TV and reading materials; however, most of the households in the rural areas don’t have a television set.

Daphine Kasiime a Primary Seven pupil at Kyembambe Model Primary School in Fort Portal town, and who stays at Harukoto village says they don’t have a TV set but she is helped by her aunt who has one. In order to watch the programmes every day from 9am to 10am on BBS TV, and from 10am to 12pm on Bukedde TV, she has to get up early in the morning, and do some chores such as sweeping the compound and making breakfast before dashing to her aunt’s place a few metres away to be in time to attend the TV lessons. She says they study different lessons every day and teachers on TV give them timetables for the classes.

 “We have been able to do revision with the teachers because many of the topics we are studying had been covered before we were sent home,” she says.

Kasiime adds that she is not alone at her aunt’s place as there are other children who use the same TV to attend different classes. While she is grateful for the opportunity, she says the challenge is on getting feedback from teachers especially when you fail to understand something.

“After a lesson, the teacher gives us assignments to do and we are supposed to be marked; because we don’t interact with the teachers, we told to exchange our assignment books with colleagues for marking but me at home I don’t have any one, I request my sisters and brothers to help and mark my work.”

Unlike many, Tracy Komukama, a Senior Four student at Central College Mityana and who lives in Haibale village, Rwebisengo Sub County Ntoroko Dstrict says they have a TV set at their home. Her challenge however is that she is unable to use it because other family members want to watch other channels at the same time. Her classmate, Beatrice Kayezu, who resides in Kahungabunyoyi Fort Portal town, says she has dedicated all her time to attend classes on the TV from Monday to Saturday. Although the family have a TV set in their home, because of other domestic work, Kayezu’s parents decided that she leave her home in Kiko town council to come and live with her sister in Fort Portal town so she can concentrate on the TV classes where there were less chores to do.

“For the last one week I have been able to do some revision work on TV and they have kept me active in this lockdown,” she says.

She states that the teachers give them assignments and those with smartphones send the work through for marking. However, she says, “I don’t have a smartphone to send the work for marking. At times the teacher talks so fast and if you miss a point you can’t tell him or her to repeat the point and you don’t have someone seated next to you to consult.”

The struggle to get learning materials     

When it comes to the learning materials that are currently being sold in newspapers, only a few students living in the urban areas can access them. Learners in distant places like Ntoroko and Bundibugyo are unable to access copies because there is no public transport.

“Here in Rwebisengo Sub County, Ntoroko District, we have no access to these learning materials in the newspapers because there are no cars coming this side to bring them,” Komukama says.

Ms Victoria Nayiga, a parent from Kagote village, Kabarole District says the programmes set up are going to benefit only those with to access to radio and television sets. Even then, she adds, not all with such mediums will benefit because learners have different learning abilities.

“I don't think students will benefit much since they don’t have a chance to ask questions in case they miss a point and some concepts will confuse them more. How about those who cannot access radio and television?  Don't you think they will be left behind? I hear there are reading materials to be delivered to learners but how effectively are they going to be distributed? Remember most learners cannot learn on their own as they need to be supported,” Ms Nayiga said.

Mr Wilfred Alinaitwe a teacher at Nyabubaale Primary School in Kyenjojo District says the programmes are a good alternative by the ministry.

But he realises that it will benefit mostly learners who live in urban areas where access to TV is easy unlike in the rural areas.

“In our village of Rwenyonyozi in Butunduzi town council, few families have TV sets and I have been moving around to find out how many children have embraced the idea. I discovered that few children were attending those classes because there is no power connection,” he said, adding that the children are complaining that most of the topics taught were covered before the close of school.

“Before this programme of teaching on radio was halted, I used to listen to teachers who were teaching on radio and many children in my village were following the programme but when they halted it many children were left stranded,” he said.

His request is for the ministry to consider delivering reading materials for learners to teachers across the country to deliver them and not Resident District Commissioners, because the teachers know better their learners and can monitor them.