Warning against frustrating education system

Jul 26, 2017

There are mixed views on the need for co-curricular activities in schools.

(Photo credit: Catherine Akao)

EDUCATION


By Catherine Akao

LIRA - The district education officer of Lira, Jane Frances Offungi (pictured) has warned both teachers and parents against failing Uganda's education system and thereafter blame government.

She was recently responding to a concern raised by primary school teachers about parents' poor attitude that is frustrating their efforts to develop pupils' talents as most of them don't support their children to take part in co-curricular activities.

The DEO said parents should know that one may not be intelligent in class but has a talent that could make a living for them.

To the teachers, Offungi said they should not sit back because parents are not interested in the activities, stressing that the education department designs learning areas that are beneficial to a learner.

Co-curricular activities, as stipulated in the primary school syllabus, falls under creative arts and physical education (CAPE) which the education ministry requires that every learner must experience alongside academics to keep them physically fit, refreshed in class and interested in studies.

However, according to teachers, today's parents see nothing good in this learning aspect and yet even the best schools in PLE are the ones also excelling in arts and physical education.

Milly Doreen Akello, the deputy headteacher of St Paul in Ngetta sub-county, says parents discourage their children from participating in creative arts and physical education thinking the events only benefit the school in recognition and not the children.

Jimmy Okombe, the deputy headteacher of Mantle Day and Boarding Primary School in Railways division, says their school concentrates on academics more than co-curricular activities because their parents are most interested in academic excellence.

"Our school has actually never held any competitions because we don't have a field and even our parents don't demand for any co-curricular activities," he said.

Jimmy Omoko, a teacher at Ambalal Primary School, says parents are not interested in their children excelling in co-curricular activities as compared to Primary Leaving Exams (PLE) assuming it is a waste of time.

He says at his school, most parents recall their children from school during co-curricular time, denying the children chance to acquire beneficial skills.

Pupils interviewed attested to their parents discouraging them from taking part in extra school activities.

Gloria Akello, an athlete from St Paul, says her parents hold her at home to do chores when they realized they are doing practice or even going for games and sports.

One male pupil who, during the first term represented Lira district at the ball games competition held in Tororo, said their school authorities had to engage his parents to release him to go and represent their sub-county at the district level.

Despite all this, most pupils say they love physical education because it makes learning fun.

Some of the parents New Vision talked to expressed mixed feelings about physical education, with some shifting blame on teachers.

Ronald Odyek says they cannot support what their children will not benefit from because even those they see excelling in the activities go nowhere and even get nothing.

Patrick Ayena, another parent, says co-curricular is important but teachers are being mishandled and they are shying away from their role, so parents send their children to school and dictate on what to teach them.

He also blamed it on weak guidelines and regulations and the meager funds invested in the areas that don't motivate teachers.

 

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