Govt, US unveil home schooling for pupils

Government in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) yesterday unveiled a homeschooling package to benefit primary pupils who have spent more than a year marooned at home.

The beneficiaries include Primary One, Primary Two and Primary Three learners, who are scheduled to report back to school in June.
Their colleagues in other classes have already reported back to school.

Speaking during the launch of the Home-Learning Group programme in Entebbe Municipality, Usaid chief of party integrated child and youth development activity, Ms Eileen Mokaya, said the beneficiaries will be clustered in groups ranging from 15 to 20 in various districts across the country.

“Local governments will ensure the study groups are established and the teachers adhere to the set guidelines,” said Ms Mokaya.
“Inspector departments will routinely visit the study groups to ensure they are carrying out their tasks based on the set criteria and advise on any challenges encountered in the exercise,” she said.

Schools were in March last year closed by the government as one of the measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. Under the new arrangement, government will be required to identify teachers who will facilitate the learning session that would last between one and two hours a day.
Ms Mokaya added that the district education officers would work hand-in-hand with local leaders to identify places such as churches or village halls and the required teachers to facilitate the learning process.

The Entebbe Municipality education officer, Mr Daniel Ndagga, said they had initiated learners’ groups and would commence lessons as soon as possible.
He said they would be sending teachers study materials formulated by the United Nations and the Ministry of Education officials.

“We are all aware that since the lockdown, some of our children have been seated home. This unprecedented lockdown got us unprepared and unaware on how to engage children in productive activities. Sending children home with study materials went a long way in keeping them productively occupied. However, the challenge remained enormous and our children continued to suffer,” Mr Ndagga said.

“There was a sharp decline in reading skills and this intervention, therefore, is not only timely but a wonderful gesture of good will. Children will assemble and interact with their facilitators on the days that have been selected. We are not creating parallel schools, but we just want to keep our learner active,” he added.

Mr Ndagga also said they are targeting the most vulnerable children.
The US ambassador, Ms Natalie Brown, said the programme will help Ugandan children access learning materials. 

“Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the education sector globally. In Uganda, many children have been out of school since the institutions closed and during this time, many children were exposed to teenage pregnancies, child marriages and child labour,”Ms Brown said.
“The most important component of these study groups is that they are conducted in safe spaces. Here, children can access shelter and sanitation facilities.

In that way, we will protect them from Covid-19 and domestic violence,” she added.
Mr Ndagga added that they are going to select government teachers who are already on payroll. He said the US government will only facilitate the teachers with transport and lunch allowances.

Ms Mokaya said if  by June these pupils do not go back to school, they will roll out the programme to other districts.

Beneficiaries

This programme targets to engage 500 primary school teachers and  25 teachers per district in cohort 1 that is looking at 20 districts across the country. Among the first beneficiaries are Wakiso, Luweero, Gomba, Mityana, Hoima, Masindi and Kikube. Others are Kyenkjojo, Kagadi, Kakumiro, and Kibaale.

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