Equip teachers to perform well

According to the 2021 Uwezo National Learning Assessment report that was released on Tuesday this week, the overall proportions of children who are still at the ‘non-reader’ stage (those who could not read or sound out letters of the alphabet) doubled from 6.2 percent in 2018 to 11.6 percent in 2021.

For Primary Three pupils, the proportion of non-readers increased from 12.7 percent in 2018 to 25.1 percent in 2021, while the percentage of children aged eight years increased from 32.8 percent to 50.7 percent. (See Daily Monitor January 20, “More pupils can’t read – report”) The fi ndings suggest that the learning by younger children has been delayed more by the pandemic and school closures than that of older children.

In the story, the Uwezo executive director, Ms Mary Nakabugo, is quoted appealing to the teachers to help learners who could not recognize any word in the alphabet as opposed to only concentrating on the curriculum. She also points out that government must live up to its responsibility to provide suffi cient primary school classrooms throughout Uganda and fill the staffing gaps in government- aided primary schools.

The report presents an uphill task for teachers this year. Not only do they have to deal with the psychosocial issues brought about by the two year lockdown by counselling and being extra-patient, understanding and discerning, they also have to work harder to get learners back on board academically. We can sit back and expect results from them as if they work in isolation or we can work with them by providing all the support they need to be able to pull off this herculean task.

As Ms Nakabugo points out, government must start with the basics such as filling staffing gaps, and proper school infrastructure and then of course remuneration and provision of learning and teaching aids. She says: “Lessons under tree shades can be taught successfully but making them a way of life is unfair to all concerned children, teachers and school managers.”

The onus is on all stakeholders to enable and equip the teachers to change the trajectory that is presented not only in the 2021 Uwezo report but in other reports as well.

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