Schools should act as partners
Feb 09, 2011
UGANDA National Examinations Board on Tuesday released the results of the 2010 Uganda Certificate of Education (O’ level) examinations.
UGANDA National Examinations Board on Tuesday released the results of the 2010 Uganda Certificate of Education (O’ level) examinations.
Science performance in Government-aided schools improved due to the improved state of laboratories and equipment in schools. On the other hand, performance in private schools remained poor due to lack of science teachers and laboratory equipment.
Also from the results, a third of the schools with examination centres, that is, 805 of 2,551 schools, never registered a single first grade. Districts with the highest percentage of Division One students also had the highest numbers of schools without a single Division One student.
The highest concentration of best performing schools is in the same environment with the highest concentration of schools with no first grades. The government-aided schools with equipped laboratories and good science performance are also in the same environments with the private schools, but there are no efforts to use available resources equitably.
The education ministry and its partners need to come up with incentives to improve performance in private schools and bring them to the same level as government-aided schools. However, best performing schools also need to contribute to uplifting education standards of the less fortunate schools.
Already there are efforts like seminars, debates for student interaction and they benefit less fortunate students, but there is need for more cooperation. Teacher exchange programmes, for example, need not be with only expatriate or foreign teachers; teachers of best schools can share skills and resources with poor schools.
Education is a common good and responsibility for outcomes should not rest on only the ministry, teachers and individual schools, but the whole community. Schools should not act as competitors, but as partners.
Science performance in Government-aided schools improved due to the improved state of laboratories and equipment in schools. On the other hand, performance in private schools remained poor due to lack of science teachers and laboratory equipment.
Also from the results, a third of the schools with examination centres, that is, 805 of 2,551 schools, never registered a single first grade. Districts with the highest percentage of Division One students also had the highest numbers of schools without a single Division One student.
The highest concentration of best performing schools is in the same environment with the highest concentration of schools with no first grades. The government-aided schools with equipped laboratories and good science performance are also in the same environments with the private schools, but there are no efforts to use available resources equitably.
The education ministry and its partners need to come up with incentives to improve performance in private schools and bring them to the same level as government-aided schools. However, best performing schools also need to contribute to uplifting education standards of the less fortunate schools.
Already there are efforts like seminars, debates for student interaction and they benefit less fortunate students, but there is need for more cooperation. Teacher exchange programmes, for example, need not be with only expatriate or foreign teachers; teachers of best schools can share skills and resources with poor schools.
Education is a common good and responsibility for outcomes should not rest on only the ministry, teachers and individual schools, but the whole community. Schools should not act as competitors, but as partners.