Govt gives headmasters smart phones to monitor teachers  

Some of the headteachers react as they unpack their smartphones received under the TELA project in Nebbi District on January 25, 2023. 

What you need to know:

  • The system which is operated on the mobile devices with an android operating system will ensure teachers are monitored right from their arrivals at school.

The Ministry of Education under a designed system of Teachers Effectiveness and Learners Achievements (TELA) has equipped head teachers in Nebbi District with smart phones to monitor the performance and absenteeism of teachers in schools.

According to government, “TELA monitoring system is a platform which enables information exchange between various stakeholders in the management of primary schools and secondary schools to ensure teachers’ details are electronically captured.”

The system which is operated on the mobile devices with an android operating system will ensure teachers are monitored right from their arrivals at school.

“The system has come to reduce the absenteeism of teachers which will increase the performance because it acts as supervision and performance management tool that captures evidences based on the information for quick and easy decision making by providing instant reports,” Nebbi District schools inspector James Gwoktho observed.  

Besides, the system has a task performance management system on smartphones with GPS and has biometric features designed to monitor real time teacher or head teachers attendances and timetable implementation.

“That is good but if the head teachers connive with the teachers, the whole captured information on the system becomes fake and this calls for transparency by the head teachers who control the monitoring devices,” Gwoktho noted.

Nebbi education officials say absenteeism of teachers in the district stands at 10 per cent but they are optimistic that the tech intervention will increase teacher efficacy.

“The immediate challenge we are seeing is that, our head teachers may not be skilled to use the devices and there is need for adequate training,” Gwoktho told Monitor on Wednesday.

Alex Ongieragiu, the head teacher of Kele Primary school in Erussi Sub County decried poor rural electrification as most up country schools aren’t connected to the national grid.  

“This makes it hard for charging especially if government does not provide solar-powered smartphones in rainy seasons,” he remarked.

Erussi Sub county LC 3 chairperson Collins Oromchan urged government to focus on rural electrification for proper implementation of its plans.