Omoro teachers hail newspapers for boosting literacy in class

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“Before newspapers were introduced in our school as a tool for teaching, we had challenges. Learners struggled with reading and comprehension, but now they are able to read and understand subjects better,” says Esther Odyek.

Odyek is the deputy headteacher at Awere Primary School in Omoro district. She teaches literacy and English.

Odyek was among 30 teachers from Omoro district who received training on how to use newspapers as a teaching aid on March 9, 2026, at Odek town.

“I am happy and impressed with the initiative of Newspapers in Education (NIE). It has brought lots of results in my class. As a teacher, I have been able to get more instructional materials and learning aids from newspapers.

Teachers in the NIE training in Odek, Omoro district.

“The beauty of newspapers is that the information that comes every week is fresh news. Children are learning new things time and again. It makes my class lively and the children happy to learn,” she says.

Odyek says newspapers have enriched her knowledge and creativity in teaching.

“I am able to use newspaper cut-outs to design and decorate my class. I use the cut-outs from newspapers to teach the subjects I handle. I also involve learners in cutting out pieces from newspapers to decorate our classroom and make it print-rich,” she says.

The Toto magazine is a favourite for learners. When they see children their age appear in Toto, they become excited and admire them. Many of them want to appear in the magazine, too. Toto Magazine comes out on Wednesdays as a pullout in the New Vision.

“What I like about Toto magazine is that the activities shared are within the children’s learning abilities. They are at their level, and the learners enjoy them so much,” Odyek says.

“As a result, in my class, I have a reading corner where newspapers and Toto magazines are kept. My children sometimes don’t even want to go out for break time; they prefer to remain in that corner reading because they love it.”

“You will find them cutting things, designing the classroom and displaying anything interesting that helps them in reading and learning. It is fun to use newspapers in my class. I like it so much,” she adds.

In addition, the newspapers have also impacted learners in higher classes.

“I want to testify that NIE had a great impact on our performance last year. We managed to get two first grades as a result of using newspapers. The learners interacted a lot with the Pass PLE pull-out in the New Vision.”

“When the newspapers came in, we would extract the pull-out and give it to them. We used it during seminars and revision sessions. Pass PLE contributed greatly to the good performance of our learners and made us very happy,” Odyek reveals.

She also commended the Save the Planet section for children in the New Vision.

“We are also very interested in the New Vision children’s section called Save the Planet. It has helped us a lot in conserving our environment within the school setting.

“We are using that section to ensure children participate in saving the environment. At school, we are planting trees and ensuring the compound is clean by avoiding littering. Pupils pick plastic bottles, polyethene bags, and other garbage in the compound and dispose of them properly. It is helping us a lot to conserve our environment,” she explains.

Odyek urged fellow teachers in other schools to embrace the use of newspapers in education.

“It is one of the best instructional materials to be used in the classroom. Some of our textbooks are outdated and do not contain fresh information, but newspapers always provide new information. It is fruitful using newspapers, and I urge everyone to embrace them,” she says.

“I am also urging other teachers to continue using newspapers in learning because there is a lot of great information in them to make learning more interactive and fun for both teachers and children.”

Ambrose Obuku, a teacher and patron at Wii Ceng Primary School in Omoro district, agrees that integrating NIE will improve learners’ reading culture.

He says using newspapers has boosted the reading culture in schools.

“We teachers read the newspapers and set questions as children look for answers in the papers. In the process, they learn how to read and interpret information,” he says.

However, under the Save Our Planet competition, Obuku notes that rural teachers face challenges such as a lack of internet data to share children’s work for publication and stand a chance of winning prizes. In addition, children often come at different times seeking help.

“Nonetheless, I appeal to my fellow teachers to give time to these learners so that they can get the best from using newspapers in learning. Above all, as teachers we must improve career guidance because when learners read newspapers, they discover many opportunities, and with guidance, they can achieve more,” he says.

Esther Arinaitwe, the Vision Group Newspapers in Education manager, emphasised that newspapers are not replacing textbooks but complementing them as a teaching tool.

“For instance, newspapers provide clear pictures that teachers can use to illustrate lessons. Some schools struggle to get textbooks, but a creative teacher can use newspapers and find useful materials to teach pupils. The creativity of a teacher will determine how important newspapers in education become,” she says.

“Newspapers in education are the cheapest way to bring the world into the classroom so that children can relate to it. They present actual events and people that children can connect with. Today, we want informed children, not just crammers but critical thinkers. When children read newspapers with real-life situations, they relate what they learn in class instead of cramming,” she explains.

About 40 schools in the Karamoja region are benefiting from the Newspapers in Education programme, while 52 schools in the Acholi region are also beneficiaries.

Newspapers are used as instructional tools in many subjects and grade levels. Typically, most NIE programmes focus on subjects such as English language, reading, social studies, mathematics and science.

In collaboration with Save the Children, New Vision is actively implementing the Newspapers in Education (NIE) programme across 92 schools in the Karamoja and Acholi regions, including training teachers on how to use newspapers in teaching.

The New Vision NIE team began the training of teachers on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, and will continue until March 13, 2026, in the Karamoja and Acholi regions.