Teachers told to update their teaching schemes

Apr 30, 2017

Raising voices yesterday organized a dialogue where several education stakeholders like pupils, teachers, parents

Makindye division District Education Officer (DEO) James Mwanja, Mirembe Primary School's Mirembe Asiimwe (P.6) and Raising Voices Programs Officer Peter Bahemuka interacting during a dialogue on quality education

As Uganda joins the rest of the world to celebrate the Global Action Week, teachers have been advised to update their teaching schemes, from being theoretical to more practical.

The week that runs from April 23 to 29 annually was put in place in 2001 by UNESCO, for governments and global communities worldwide to reflect on quality education.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number four is about ensuring inclusive and quality education for all.

While addressing an education dialogue at Mirembe Primary School Kampala, the division District Education Officer James Mwanja said, most teachers are still using the old teaching system of too much theory yet pupils need more of practical to implement what they learn in classes.

Raising voices yesterday organized a dialogue where several education stakeholders like pupils, teachers, parents and ministry of education representatives to find solutions on how to achieve quality education in the country to celebrate Global Action Week.

"Most teachers focus on children getting good grades thus feeding them on theory only. They ignore practical and co-circular activities included on the national school curriculum," he said.

Mwanja further explained not everyone in the world succeeds using formal education, adding that teachers should discover pupils' talents and promote them.

"Talk to your children right from when they are breast feeding, they will grow up doing whatever you told and showed them," he noted.

This years' global action week theme is 'Accountability for SDG four and citizens' participation'.

Raising Voices programs officer Peter Bahemuka said the open forum dialogue was organized to reflect on problems hindering quality education in the country and their possible solutions.

Bahemuka said, "In the dialogue we shared ideas since we have to spear head solving our education problems before UNESCO and the World Bank come in."

He added that parents should work hard and provide scholastic materials to their children if the country is to have quality education. 

 Bahemuka further advised teachers to be positive be examples to their pupils adding that they most time behave like them when they grow up.

Shamim Nalumansi a parent of two pupils in primary said school administrators should facilitate well their staff to enable them teach pupils with strength.

"A starving teacher cannot take pupils for exercises; neither can he or she think about explaining class work to pupils." She said.

Richard Ssali a primary school teacher said formal education and co-curricular activities are equally important.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});