NiE trains teachers

By Richard Drasimaku
 
Primary school teachers in Ayivu county, Arua district have received training in the use of newspapers as effective tools of teaching.

The training, conducted by Vision Group officials at Ediofe Boys Primary School on Thursday, aimed at enhancing the Newspapers in Education (NiE) programme in all the 54 primary schools in the county.

“We did not get this concept quite well when it was introduced. This training has enlightened us and you can be sure that we are going back to generate results,” said Alfred Atabua, the head teacher of Jiako Primary School.

The programme, which is in its second year, is the result of a partnership between Vision Group and Ayivu county MP Bernard Atiku through his Ayivu Education Promotion Fund (AEPF).

Under the initiative, 450 copies of the New Vision newspaper of every Wednesday are distributed to all the primary schools in the county, while AEPF officials are hosted on the Vision Group-owned Arua One FM twice every term to popularise the scheme.

To ensure sustainability, AEPF has been running a text messaging platform where participants text “ONITAA” to 6262 at the cost of sh220 and win school fees in weekly draws.

“With NiE, we are advocating for an interactive methodology of teaching because the child is not just an empty vessel, but a co-learner with the teacher,” Jamesa Wagwau, the NiE editor, told the participants.