Practical subjects a big challenge

By Pidson Kareire Unlike other subjects, practical subjects are rather costly. For instance, you need a chunk of land to train pupils in agricultural skills. If there is no land, you need transport to take the pupils to different farms outside the school. Some primary schools, which do not have enough land of their own train pupils on parents' farms. Miss Rose Mukandori, headteacher, Buganda Road Primary School, says the school bought some land at Nsangi on Masaka road. "The school farm is far from the school, and we normally take there P7 and P6 pupils because our problem is transport. P7 alone has 290 pupils. Those are about four buses," she says. City Parents School, in Kampala normally takes pupils out to parents' farms. The school has five acres of land on Hoima road. Mr Martin Isagala, the headteacher says the school has an agricultural laboratory but pupils go out for practicals. "For us it has always been our priority. Pupils go out for gardening and this is right from lower to upper classes," he says. Mukandori, however, says there must be a follow-up. "Definitely we have not acquired enough skills," she explains. At Buganda Road Primary School, Friday afternoons are devoted to practical subjects. These include painting, debating, weaving, knitting, music, agriculture and sewing. Unlike the urban schools, which are limited by land problems, rural schools are suffering from financial constraints. Ends