Incompetent teachers blamed for poor performance

PIC: Charles Akoyo, the Kamuli district education officer. (Credit: Tom Gwebayanga)

EDUCATION | PERFORMANCE

KAMULI - The just released Primary Leaving examinations (PLE) results for Kamuli district would have been better if teachers were not incompetent , the district education officer, Charles Akoyo, has said.

He called for the need to go back to the drawing board to determine the quality of teachers. According to Akoyo,  most of the teachers are "rusty" and are not eligible to teach.

He added that good results cannot be achieved through "garbage" teachers, adding that there's need to get to a level of  validating and weeding out the incompetent and replace them with fresh brains that can yield better results.

He said during a recruitment exercise of deputy head teachers and senior education assistants last year, Akoyo said the interviewers were overwhelmed when, out of the 400 applicants, only two scored above the 50 % pass mark. This portrayed the quality of teachers. 

Akoyo said the simple exams were drawn from Primary Three to Primary Seven lessons in English, mathematics, science and social studies lessons they failed, which calls for mass validation of all teachers.

He made the remarks on Tuesday following the release of the Primary Leaving Examinations results, where Kamuli ranked second last to Luuka district, in Busoga sub-region.

Of the 10,076 registered candidates, only 279 passed in First Grade, 3,460 in second, 2,631 in third and 1,798 in fourth grade. Also, 209 did not sit and 1,699 were ungraded.

The district inspector of schools, Ibrahim Kanakulya, who termed the results as disappointing, decried the government policy of automatic promotion, where dull pupils join Primary Seven.

"Private schools do the screening and have succeeded," Kanakulya said.