The Benefit of School exchange programmes

There are several challenges, the current eduction system in Uganda is facing. It is important to know that we are living in revolutionary times that demand new and different abilities.

These times need critical thinking and problem solving abilities, which have been components of human progress throughout history.

Therefore, for schools in Uganda to cope with these new challenges, they should embrace exchange programmes where schools in developing countries are linked with their counterparts in developed countries for purposes of exchanging and transferring knowledge and skills.

Usually these are funded programmes and they seek to link up schools in Uganda with their counterparts abroad for a symbiotic relationship of exchanging knowledge and skills.

Springs Alive children’s centre (SPACC) has reaped huge benefits from this programme.
This programme has seen the chief administrator SPACC visit their partner school, Whitkirk Primary School in Britain-(Leeds) UK.
This has helped SPACC gain a wealth of exposure in terms of skills, attitudes and values.

On the part of Whitkirk Primary School in Britain-(Leeds) UK , a teacher at the school, says the programme has changed the attitudes, perceptions and stereotypes their students had towards other people from different cultures, race and colour.

“I used to think that all Africans stayed in a jungle. I thought of poverty and disease. After meeting with them, I realized that I was wrong to judge them based on what I had seen on television. I realised that while they may not have as much material resources as we do, they make the most of the little they have,” remarked a pupil

No or less food is being served by schools

In the Picture Pupils being served lunch

. Schools across the country are choking under the weight of increased commodity prices.


A survey has been carried out and indicates that many schools, including Springs Alive Children’s Centre (SPACC) are choking under the weight of the increased commodity prices; with some rationing food, others on the brink of closing early this term while others no longer at all serve their children any food at school.

The high cost of living has made it very expensive for some schools administrators to effectively remain in operation.

In some schools, the number of meals and amount of food has been reduced, while in others, co-curricular activities have been scrapped to save money for food. Others have removed some items from the menu.

This has caused mal-nutrition and children being absent-minded many-times while in class

The Government and the Education Ministry are aware of the hike in commodity prices but haven’t yet done a thing toward this.

This is what was found out from some schools during the survey;


1) One school had budgeted to spend sh266m on food for the entire year but the actual expenditure will be above this. All allowances have been suspended due to hiked prices for essential commodities. The school used to give students meat once a week but this has been stopped.

2) In another school,their menu has not changed,they expected commodity prices to increase and budgeted accordingly. They are also getting a lot of supplies on credit and will pay later.
3) In yet another school,they have 3,000 students and 180 staff members to feed. The expenditure has increased yet they have not increased school fees. But are lucky to have a school farm where they get some food to supplement.
4) We used to spend sh2m on providing lunch to 520 A’ level students for a fortnight; but now our expenditure on food has shot up to sh3.2m. We have reduced on the meat and matooke we prepare for teachers from twice to once a week.

5) We have reduced on the food rations. The education ministry requires that every UPE child in P3-P7 pays sh10,000 for lunch and sh5,500 for pupils in nursery. If the situation continues like this, we might begin serving the kids porridge for lunch
6) We used to buy a kilo of maize flour at sh800 but the price has doubled. We spent sh1.3m on posho and beans for the first half of this term but we are going to pay sh2.6m in the second half.
7) We stocked our food supplies last July. We have rice, beans and maize flour in stock. So we are still relying on the old stock. We have not
started experiencing the pinch.
8) We are finding it a little bit hard to feed students. Judging from last year’s expenditure, we had estimated to spend sh34.5m on food this term but already sh28m has been spent yet we still have another month to go. We used to give them soya peas twice a week but we have failed, due to the high prices.
9) l have failed to get the type of beans my students like.The School has 884 students and they eat 140 kg of posho everyday. Next term, we shall stock beans and posho in large quantities
10) A sack of maize flour that used to cost sh100,000 is twice the amount. We have had to ration food for our pupils to avoid wastage. As a result of higher prices, there might be a slight increment in fees.

THE HUNT FOR SCHOOL FEES IS ON

The beginning of any school term is the time when students have to return to school. You have to sympathize with parents, guardians and benefactors for the task they have in finding school fees. Some have no jobs and those with jobs hardly earn enough to pay the fees.
Out of desperation, many parents turn to banks and loan sharks to borrow money to pay the school fees. Its a noble cause, but quite risky, because it makes them vulnerable to extortion. I have seen parents that have been borrowing money in order to meet their needs and when it comes time to pay the debt, they have to borrow from somewhere else. Its the classic 'borrowing from Peter to pay Paul' scenario. It is important to seek advise either legally or from friends and family about the choice of the lender.
A parent may opt for a cheap education as an alternative, but you will find that it’s not actually that cheap or free and in any case it may end up spoiling your child.
There is usually a need for the parent to support the school through providing scholastic materials for their children, school uniform and lunch plus getting involved in the school’s development programs like fund-raising, supporting sustainable projects and even the actual monitoring of whether one’s child is really studying.
Parents have proven that they can go the distance to see their children through school; in turn, the children ought to do their best in school.
Pay attention in all your classes and remember to forge friendships and engage in sport and drama. Most importantly, be mindful of the sacrifices your parents are making to ensure you have a good education.
Please work hard at school because your future is literally in your hands.
Have a good term and please share with us your experiences!

Teacher productivity

There’s intense pressure on our schools to present good examination results and rightly so.
The expansion of our schools has not always been followed by plans for expansion of teacher training institutions or by changes in the way new teachers are prepared to deal with the new reality in schools.
Some factors that affect teacher productivity are directly linked to student productivity.
It is important to consider how we judge teachers in today's environment. Many see a good teacher as being someone who contributes positively to a students’ achievement. The value of this teacher contribution adds to a student’s school experience and allows them to achieve much more. Several studies have attributed this teacher ‘added value’ to an endowment in teacher intelligence, subject knowledge and teaching skills.
The relative importance of intelligence, subject knowledge, and teaching skills in determining teacher productivity has important implications for recruiting and preparing future teachers.
The role of intelligence seems to suggest that policies designed to reduce entry barriers and encourage the brightest into teaching could boost student achievement.
Many people don’t want to become teachers due to the ever increasing demands placed on teachers beyond the initial task of teaching. For example, teachers are increasingly involved with parents and non-teacher related issues. Something must be done to remove some of these barriers, and attract some of our best students into teaching.
Educational authorities keep track of teacher productivity through the head teacher evaluations. Retention and tenure decisions are often heavily influenced by what the head teacher thinks about a particular teacher.
It is interesting to note that even with a glowing report from the head teacher, some teachers do not do well in certain environments. Deploying a good teacher to a new school in a different region of the country to help boost student achievement may have disappointing results. There is an expectation that a good teacher will remain productive when moved to a new school. This is not always true as many teachers benefit from high student achievement due to socio-economic conditions in the school and other reasons. Teachers in schools which recruit some of the most successful candidates after primary school will obviously face less of a challenge than teachers in remote rural areas.

So what makes a good teacher? What do you think? Hit the comment button and contribute!

FAILING TO JOIN A TOP O’LEVEL SCHOOL IS NOT THE END

ENROLMENT: All parents dream of sending their children to the best schools, but there are other alternatives.

It is the ambition of every parent and student to attend the best schools and universities available. This is usually a guarantee of future success in this competitive world.
The problem is that with all the pressure to achieve good marks, superior - star schools are forgetting about the importance of holistic education and concentrating only on their students achieving high marks.
This competition begins when the students have to take their Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE). Educationists are concerned about this growing trend amongst parents competing for slots in star schools. This trend has also been cited as the cause of the competition among schools to work entirely towards passing national examinations. It is true that star schools instill discipline, hard work and perseverance in their students, but is the competition threatening the intellectual health of the students.

Good O’level education provides a foundation for both A’level and university education. When a child excels at O’levels, they are assured of being able to join a good A’level school and their future chances of joining university and receiving government sponsorship are high. It is the accepted way of progressing through the education system, but what about all those who do not make it? Does it mean the end of one’s child’s educational future?
Parents must remember that even students in so-called 'rural' schools can still pass and make it to university. It is simply a matter of discipline and determination. Even children in star schools can fail.

Many parents want their children to join top performing schools and pass with flying colours, but is that a good, wholesome education?

There are many secondary schools in rural areas with adequate facilities to provide a good education to enable children to perform well academically and in all other aspects of life. Good buildings and equipment are important, but the most basic requirement in the school is the teacher. If the teacher is incompetent, then you cannot achieve good results. It is not the school that passes the examinations, but the ability and willingness of the child to learn coupled with the efforts of the teachers. This can be achieved in any secondary school with basic standards.

People should not be frustrated because they cannot get a vacancy for their children in a top school. They must do research and identify other options and other good schools that will meet the educational needs of their children. They must accept that star schools are not the only way for their children to make a future for themselves.
What needs to be done to reduce the fuss about top schools?

It is obvious that all our schools need to be improved and transformed into learning centers of excellence. To enable schools to meet the required standards, they need to be rehabilitated and equipped with sports facilities as well as libraries and laboratories, good dormitories and good staff houses. Especially important is the building and improving of schools in remote areas.
Most importantly, we must not forget that the students are the most important thing. Their educational health and preparedness for the future, is more important than the marks they get now.

Your comments are welcome - we’d love to hear your thoughts! Please hit the comment link and let us know what you think.

LACK OF READING SKILLS HAMPERS PLE PERFORMANCE

Last November, eight of our students sat for Primary Leaving Examinations at Nadangila Primary School. Our students sit their final exams there. Few of us had any hopes that any of our students would pass. Of the 8 pupils who sat for the exams, the best three passed in second division and the rest in third division. There were no failures! (in the picture is there Headteacher,Teddy at the farewell party organized for them-SPACC PLE LEAVERS)
Research shows that poor PLE results is strongly linked to poor reading skills. In most parts of central and northern Uganda, thousands of pupils are helpless when faced with exams, as they neither understand the questions nor do they have the ability to write the correct answers.
There is what is called “thematic curriculum” that started five years ago. This curriculum is aimed at teaching pupils in their local language from primary one to four, and then they switch to English. It has been found that pupils who start their primary education in their mother tongue have a better chance of improving their reading skills if they get good teachers to help them with the transition to English in primary four. However, there is always the challenge of funding for training teachers to manage the transition because most teachers admit they did not receive any training. The first pupils studying under the thematic curriculum will be starting their primary five classes this year.
Most critically, it has been revealed that reading skills are so low, with children remaining virtually illiterate even after three years in school. When asked to read a simple passage at P2 level, nearly 70% of children could not do so successfully. When it comes to reading comprehension, scores are extremely low, with nearly 90% of children scoring zero on the comprehension task.
It’s been noted that the lack of reading materials is a major hindrance to reading development. One can barely find textbooks for literacy class, in either P2 or P3. It shows that children are learning to read without materials to refer to or learn from which is far from ideal.
We recommend that we get support to include new initiatives in encouraging reading in class, as well as teaching formal comprehension techniques and setting literacy benchmarks. We also recommend that mother tongue assessments should be included at the end of primary examinations and a new focus on teacher professional development.
A child who goes to school everyday and ends up illiterate or semi-literate will not only experience self-esteem problems, but will also develop a negative attitude towards school. As a result, some of them drop out of school. Reading is not being taught properly as a subject and as a result, pupils in middle primary are finding it hard to understand what they are taught.
We are requesting all sorts of support from our contacts and collaborators to remain committed to this reading initiative and also to carry out a follow-up until the pupils complete their primary school learning.

TAKE YOUR CHILD'S EARLY LEARNING SERIOUSLY!

FROM my experience, early childcare is one of the biggest expenses any family has faced. As a parent and teacher, I have resolved that I owe it to myself to ensure my children get a true educational advantage from this investment.

Research reveals that early childhood experiences have powerful effects on the development of children’s physical and emotional abilities. It also influences their achievements in math, logic, language and music.

According to studies carried out in different countries across the world, children from poor families were found to be a year or more behind in language skills due to limited exposure and poor care.

The findings also reveal that children who grow up in an organised and calm home are more likely to have good early reading skills by the age of five and six.

Children who get the poorest support often face multiple challenges since most of them are less likely to have been born to well educated parents or living with their biological parents.

Unfortunately, it is undeniable that educational inequality exists and starts early in the lives of children. It leaves children from disadvantaged homes struggling to keep up throughout their school life.

Despite the economic challenges leading to poverty, all hope should not be lost. Good parental involvement in the early education of a child can lead to great triumph.

Parents need to continually encourage their children to aim at excelling by insisting on success through hard work. This reduces the levels of school dropouts and adult unemployment.

Children will be keen to learn honesty, respect, love and hard work at an early age if well provided for at home and school. The teaching of critical thinking skills that help children to solve problems in a constructive way should also start at an early age. These skills become useful in the child’s life as they grow up being more confident to find solutions to problems instead of complaining or being complacent.

Reading to children and taking them to libraries (not a common practice in this country) is found to be helpful in limiting poverty. As children read too often, they form healthy relationships with others as they develop their listening and communication skills.

They are eager to learn as they get sufficient knowledge necessary to help them finish school and build a productive life. The social skills children need to succeed in school and work are developed at an early age. It is therefore important that children get a good educational background because it reduces links with anti-social behaviour, detrimental to their success.

If a parent or guardian, chooses to educate a child, they should give it their best by investing in good years education programmes that provide a foundation for the child’s success.

In the picture Rune Gustavsen from Norway( http://www.facebook.com/rune.gustavsen1) driving a point to SPACC kids.

Wondering what our readers out there think about this?