UPE pupils to benefit from classroom bus

Mr Charles Halonda Funa, the lead instructor, takes Kiswa Primary School pupils through computer lessons in the bus at the school on Wednesday. PHOTO BY Stephen Wandera

What you need to know:

The first beneficiary is Kiswa Primary School in Bugolobi, a Kampala suburb. Other schools lined up are; Nakasero Primary School followed by Buganda Road Primary School, Bat Valley Primary School and Kitante Primary School all in Kampala District. “We target to train about 25,000 pupils in the next three months,” he said

KAMPALA.

Pupils in government-aided schools will have an opportunity to study and surf the internet for free. MTN Uganda through its social corporate responsibility arm, MTN Uganda Foundation, has unveiled a bus equipped with laptops where pupils under Universal Primary Education (UPE) will learn computer skills.

According to the foundation manager, Mr Bryan Mbasa, the initiative is to train less privileged pupils in government schools. “We have procured a bus which is tailor-made for the training at Shs800 million, another Shs200 million to Shs300 million will be used for facilitators and operational costs.

This is a pilot project where we camp at a school for a week training pupils in basic computer skills. The bus accommodates 16 pupils at a go for about an hour. By close of the day we can train about 150 pupils,” Mr Mbasa told Daily Monitor yesterday.

The first beneficiary is Kiswa Primary School in Bugolobi, a Kampala suburb. Other schools lined up are; Nakasero Primary School followed by Buganda Road Primary School, Bat Valley Primary School and Kitante Primary School all in Kampala District. “We target to train about 25,000 pupils in the next three months,” he said.

The manager said after the training, schools will form ICT clubs for the pupils to interact further. “We are also setting up a training centre at every school with at least two computers connected to the internet,” he said.

He said MTN Foundation in partnership with Makerere University, will sponsor two teachers from every school for further training in ICT.

The sponsor

MTN Uganda Foundation is a non-governmental organisation that strives to improve the quality of life in communities where MTN Uganda operates.