Teachers urged to embrace newspapers in learning
“From the lessons demonstrated, I have learnt that newspapers are very useful to learners and they are interesting when used in a lesson,” says Samuel Ewangu.
Toto Magazine editor Grace Nampiima making lesson materials from newspapers with teachers in Moroto. (Photos by Jacky Achan)
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Moroto district educators say Newspapers in Education programme is helping learners think beyond their communities and engage more in class.
“From the lessons demonstrated, I have learnt that newspapers are very useful to learners and they are interesting when used in a lesson,” says Samuel Ewangu.
Ewangu is the head teacher of Kasimeri Primary School. He represented the Moroto District Education Officer, Aligoi Hellen Amullen, during the training of 14 teachers from Moroto district on March 5, 2026. The training was on how to use newspapers to aid learning.
“Newspapers open up a child’s mind to dream beyond the locality where they come from. When a child looks through the pictures and reads the newspapers, they are updated on what is happening in the whole world, and they are able to dream beyond their own locality,” he says.
“It is my appeal to all teachers who have been trained to embrace the use of newspapers in education. I also appeal to the partners implementing the programme to scale it up to other schools so that more learners can benefit, not just the few schools targeted this time.”
“It has been an exciting moment for us to learn how to use newspapers in education,” he said.
Samuel Ewangu, the head teacher of Kasimeri Primary School attending the training.
Newspapers are used as instructional tools in many subjects and grade levels. Typically, most Newspapers in Education (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.
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.
The New Vision NIE team began the training of teachers on March 3, 2026, and will continue until March 13, 2026, in the Karamoja and Acholi regions.
Toto Magazine editor Grace Nampiima emphasised that teachers can use every part of the New Vision newspaper, including Toto magazine, to teach learners and make learning more relatable, fun and exciting for children.