Are our children learning? Latest report shows mixed results

The ninth Uwezo national learning assessment of children’s basic literacy and numeracy in Uganda, which was conducted in August-September 2021, findings show an even more widely dispersed achievement and suggest that the learning by younger children has been delayed more by the pandemic and closures than that of older children.  

This pattern applies both to reading in English and to numeracy. For example, the estimated percentage of children aged eight who were non-readers increased from 32.8 in 2018 to 50.7 in 2021 and the percentage for those who were non-numerate increased from 22.4 in 2018 to 31.3 in 2021. These increases show the scale of the problem that the primary education system faces in recovering from the pandemic. It was discovered that the number of learners unable to read and do simple math increased in general in in 2021.

 At the other end of the achievement range, the proportions of children aged eight to 10 who had achieved Primary Two competence are slightly lower in 2021, both for English reading and for numeracy. 

On the other hand, older children (aged 12-14) show some improvement in basic skills. The proportions with Primary Two competence are consistently higher, both for English reading and for numeracy. This could be a result of gains made before the pandemic started and an important issue is whether these children have been able to build on the basic skills in spite of the school closures. The recent NAPE report on achievement in Primary Six (UNEB 2021) suggests a slight decline in literacy and numeracy at that level.

Trends of achievement in ethno-maths 

From the perspective of age, the ethno-maths performance is still considerably better than that of the numeracy tasks that use mathematical symbols.  The ethno-maths performances in subtraction, multiplication and division improve by age on almost exactly the same trajectories. 

The proportions of children who completed all four tasks correctly (the ‘combined’ category), however, are a few percentage points lower at all ages, rising from 5.2 percent at age four to 84.3 percent at age 16. 

There is little difference between enrolled and non-enrolled children in ages four to five, but this is probably because of the long closure of nursery schools. At ages six and seven, enrolled children clearly perform better expected.

Home schooling

The most frequently used resources were radio programmes and printed self-study materials from the government and the adults most often teaching were private tutors and mothers. 

Although no one type of resource attracts a large response, quite a large proportion of children (69.7 percent) used a learning resource of some kind. 

Relatively few children reported using more than one type of resource. For example, only 5.3 percent used both radio lessons and printed materials from the government. Again, few children were taught by more than one adult, but 46.9 percent were taught by one or more. All the children who responded either made use of at least one resource named or were assisted by at least one adult. 

Promotions

A sample drawn from 29 districts, for the findings on English reading and numeracy shows that many children had remained in the same grade as they occupied in 2020, because of the school closure. Some may have improved their skills without being promoted. Overall, the findings show some improvement from 2018, especially in Primary Seven. The rate of full competence for the whole set of grades has risen  From 32.5 percent to 39.5 percent. But the proportions of children in Primary Three who are still at the ‘non-reader’ and ‘letter stages’ remain very large. It is evident that most children are learning the basics of reading in the upper primary grades, whereas they should have mastered them in the lower primary grades so as to benefit fully from other elements in the curriculum.

The learning of non-academic 

As the period of school closure could have had benefits for the learning of non-academic/practical skills, children were asked whether they learned or improved certain specific skills, or other, unspecified ones, or none. Findings confirm that most children increased their involvement in the domestic economy.

Language

The findings cast doubt on the effectiveness of the implementation of the mother-tongue policy in two ways. Firstly, they show that most primary schools are using a mixture of languages rather than a single language for instruction in Primary One to Primary Three. Secondly, they suggest that the use of a mixture works better than the use of a local language only. Even among government-aided schools, the mixture was associated with a better result in local language reading than the use of a local language only. These findings show that the language policy requires careful attention and that it must address important issues of equity.

Staffing

The average pupil-teacher ratios of schools shows a less satisfactory staffing situation than the one observed in 2018, as the pupil-teacher ratios for all types of school were higher in early 2020, especially that of the government aided schools. The latter is also high in relation to international standards. During the partial re-opening of schools, the pupil-teacher ratios were more reasonable in general, with a weighted mean of 26.8, but that was a temporary situation and even then there were cases of extreme teacher shortage.

The situation implies that MoES needs to give more priority to the quantity and efficient allocation of teachers and to adopt a gradual approach, within the scope of available resources, to raising the qualifications profile. 

Community primary schools have fewer trained teachers male and female teachers in early 2020 for although there has been a modest improvement since 2018. Government-aided schools continue to perform well on the proportion of trained teachers, while private schools have slightly improved their proportion (from 77 percent in 2018). 

The proportion of female teachers has remained much the same in government-aided schools (43 percent in 2018) and has fallen slightly in private schools (from 53percent). Efforts to make the teaching profession more attractive to women continue to be important.

Facilities

Two key indicators of school physical facilities are the pupil-classroom ratio and the pupil-toilet ratio, which directly affect children’s welfare and the conditions in which they are taught. As in our school survey of 2015, serious shortages was discovered of classrooms, especially in government-aided and community schools, for which the sample has mean pupil-classroom ratios of 101.5 and 126.3 respectively. These compare with a ratio of 45.5 in private schools. 

There is also a contrast for the ratios of pupils to toilet stances, for which government-aided schools have a mean of 114.4, while community schools are faring better with 77.5 and private schools with 66.6. More important, perhaps, are the variations of these indicators between regions. 

There is noticeable relative scarcity of these physical facilities in Eastern and Northern Uganda.  Most schools also had a few toilets for staff. Most schools differentiate between male and female toilets. 

Overall, it will be important for planners to understand the factors that account for the regional disparities in capital outlay and to mitigate them. It is important for schools to have resources to respond to any health emergencies and to help with menstrual hygiene. 

The latter is important because many adolescent girls are attending primary schools and lack of support for menstrual hygiene can contribute to absenteeism (Miiro et al. 2018). The report shows that only about 60 percent of schools keep medicines and first aid kits, but the rates of provision for menstrual hygiene are somewhat better.

The survey reported the availability of hand-washing and sanitising facilities to the extent that was possible during the school closure. Responses came mainly from schools that had been partially reopened after the first closure. Of 257 schools sampled, 238 confirmed that they had a hand-washing and sanitising facility. It is reassuring that 85 percent of them have had water and soap and 54 percent to have had sanitiser.

Recommendations

Focus on the Lower primary 

While the assessment findings show some improvement from 2018, whereby full literacy and numeracy competence for the whole set of Primary Three to Primary Seven grades has risen, the proportions of children in Primary Three who are still at the ‘non-reader’, ‘letter/syllable’ and ‘non-numerate’ stages remain very large. It is evident that most children are learning the basics of reading and basic arithmetic in the upper primary grades. 

We must ensure that children master these foundational skills in the lower primary grades so as to benefit fully from other elements in the curriculum. 

There is also evidence from this assessment that once children fully master these skills, they acquire them for life and do not lose them when out of school.

Address shortage of classrooms in the east and north

Lessons under tree shades can be taught successfully but making them a way of life is unfair to all concerned to children, teachers and school managers. The government must live up to its responsibility to provide sufficient primary school classrooms throughout Uganda, taking the population growth into account. Although there are special challenges in refugee areas, but these do not account for the general regional shortages. These shortages increase the difficulty of organising for the enlarged pupil intake of 2022.

Support interventions 

Such interventions may include the use of volunteer teaching assistants from the local community and continued support for learning in the home. 

Volunteer teaching assistants can be helpful for providing a more interactive learning environment. Relatively small groups of pupils are an advantage for the early stages of literacy and numeracy. Volunteer-led or a combination of volunteer and teacher-led teaching and learning such. 

The useful guidance provided to parents for support to children’s learning, and the instruction that was provided through various media during the school closures, do not cease to be important when schools are reopened. 

Firstly, home-based efforts can contribute to the process of catching up after the loss of learning time in 2020-21. Secondly, when schools are open, there are likely to be some enforced absences of pupils because of a need to self-isolate (to judge from the experience of other countries) and at such times they will need home-based support for learning.

Ratios

Report shows serious shortages of classrooms, especially in government-aided and community schools, for which the sample has mean pupil-classroom ratios of 101.5 and 126.3 respectively. These compare with a ratio of 45.5 in private schools. 

Source: Adapted from uwezouganda.org