Monitors improve teachers’ attendance in west Nile
Apr 20, 2010
IT had become the norm for teachers to dodge classes at the slightest excuses. “Sometimes they claimed they had lost a relative,†says one of the pupils at Paminya Primary School in Nebbi. Some teachers took weeks without going to class.
By Joshua Kato
IT had become the norm for teachers to dodge classes at the slightest excuses. “Sometimes they claimed they had lost a relative,†says one of the pupils at Paminya Primary School in Nebbi. Some teachers took weeks without going to class.
CARE International, Uganda, then devised a system where pupils could monitor the performance of their teachers. The same system is used to monitor attendance of pupils.
The programme is sponsored by the European Union, under the Support to Decentralisation Programme (SDP). According to a statement from the EU/SDP programme, CARE International in Uganda is implementing the programme, under the Community Empowerment and Collaborative Action for Improved Governance.
“The programme is intended to strengthen the capacities of community institutions and district-based civil society organisations for social accountability,†the statement reads.
The programme is being implemented in Nebbi, Moyo and Adjumani. According to the objectives, these communities will be empowered to monitor and evaluate the performance of Universal Primary Education (UPE) and the quality of health services.
How the programme works
Each class, from P.3 to P.7, has a group of monitors selected by the pupils from among themselves. Each of them is given a record book that indicates the number of lessons a teacher has to teach per week, those he has taught and those he has missed.
The book is also used to monitor pupils’ attendance, and if they missed, why they did so. “Every week, the monitors look at the school’s general timetable, record what lessons a teacher has taught and those he has missed,†says Vincent Katungye, the CARE policy and advocacy coordinator of the project. The overall activities of the monitors are overseen by a patron, usually, a teacher.
The programme’s impact
At the moment, there are visible improvements in attendance by both teachers and pupils. “Before this programme started, it was the work of the head teacher to monitor the performance of teachers in the school,†says Paminya Primary School head teacher Ubedginn Idro. The school is under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme.
“It is challenging to see children talking about teachers’ weaknesses, especially about intentionally missing classes,†Idro says.
And the children had reason to worry. According to records, some teachers spend more than a week without going to school. When they went, they spent most of the time chatting under a tree in the school compound, or in the staffroom.
But the record books show that ever since the programme was launched two years ago, teachers’ attendance in most schools has improved by 50%. “The feeling that there is someone watching them makes them work harder,†says Salve Akwa, the head teacher of Angal Primary School.
When the monitors compile their reports, they forward them to a process implementation committee, which talks about the issue with the school heads and parents.
According to the headmaster, the punishment for the absconding teachers may, among other things, involve loss of salaries. The monitors are content with their role. “I feel proud to be part of this group. It has created a sense of responsibility in me,†says David Anecho, a P.7 pupil at Pamiya.
“It is interesting that teachers now respect us because we are watching them,†says Samuel Pimungu, a pupil at Angal Primary School, in Nebbi. “Many children who were dodging school now come daily,†says Caroline Nyamungu of Angal Primary school. However, she says some of the children who were dodging classes are not happy that they are being monitored.
“Teachers now come daily because they know that we are watching,†says Manuela Ayelango of Awasi Primay School, Paidha.
The monitors all hope that in a few years’ time, if the programme is extended, the level of education in West Nile will greatly improve.
IT had become the norm for teachers to dodge classes at the slightest excuses. “Sometimes they claimed they had lost a relative,†says one of the pupils at Paminya Primary School in Nebbi. Some teachers took weeks without going to class.
CARE International, Uganda, then devised a system where pupils could monitor the performance of their teachers. The same system is used to monitor attendance of pupils.
The programme is sponsored by the European Union, under the Support to Decentralisation Programme (SDP). According to a statement from the EU/SDP programme, CARE International in Uganda is implementing the programme, under the Community Empowerment and Collaborative Action for Improved Governance.
“The programme is intended to strengthen the capacities of community institutions and district-based civil society organisations for social accountability,†the statement reads.
The programme is being implemented in Nebbi, Moyo and Adjumani. According to the objectives, these communities will be empowered to monitor and evaluate the performance of Universal Primary Education (UPE) and the quality of health services.
How the programme works
Each class, from P.3 to P.7, has a group of monitors selected by the pupils from among themselves. Each of them is given a record book that indicates the number of lessons a teacher has to teach per week, those he has taught and those he has missed.
The book is also used to monitor pupils’ attendance, and if they missed, why they did so. “Every week, the monitors look at the school’s general timetable, record what lessons a teacher has taught and those he has missed,†says Vincent Katungye, the CARE policy and advocacy coordinator of the project. The overall activities of the monitors are overseen by a patron, usually, a teacher.
The programme’s impact
At the moment, there are visible improvements in attendance by both teachers and pupils. “Before this programme started, it was the work of the head teacher to monitor the performance of teachers in the school,†says Paminya Primary School head teacher Ubedginn Idro. The school is under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme.
“It is challenging to see children talking about teachers’ weaknesses, especially about intentionally missing classes,†Idro says.
And the children had reason to worry. According to records, some teachers spend more than a week without going to school. When they went, they spent most of the time chatting under a tree in the school compound, or in the staffroom.
But the record books show that ever since the programme was launched two years ago, teachers’ attendance in most schools has improved by 50%. “The feeling that there is someone watching them makes them work harder,†says Salve Akwa, the head teacher of Angal Primary School.
When the monitors compile their reports, they forward them to a process implementation committee, which talks about the issue with the school heads and parents.
According to the headmaster, the punishment for the absconding teachers may, among other things, involve loss of salaries. The monitors are content with their role. “I feel proud to be part of this group. It has created a sense of responsibility in me,†says David Anecho, a P.7 pupil at Pamiya.
“It is interesting that teachers now respect us because we are watching them,†says Samuel Pimungu, a pupil at Angal Primary School, in Nebbi. “Many children who were dodging school now come daily,†says Caroline Nyamungu of Angal Primary school. However, she says some of the children who were dodging classes are not happy that they are being monitored.
“Teachers now come daily because they know that we are watching,†says Manuela Ayelango of Awasi Primay School, Paidha.
The monitors all hope that in a few years’ time, if the programme is extended, the level of education in West Nile will greatly improve.