War child donates ipads to pupils in Luwero

Public primary schools may soon start getting iPads from development partners, should the pilot at Nalongo Church of Uganda Primary School be a success.

The school was selected by the education ministry, as a pilot for the project, which is supported by War Child Holland. The iPads were distributed to 50 pupils at Nalongo C.O.U Primary School in Luwero district last week.

The iPads were handed over to the school's headteacher, Mable Tuhairwe. The event was officiated by education ministry permanent secretary Alex Kakooza.

Kakooza said: "With the support of development partners, there is hope that if this project is a success here, it will later be extended to a few more primary schools. This is expected to help children improve usage of technology while learning."

Kakooza, who was flanked by the commissioner for basic education Dr Cleophus Mugenyi, said: "This is a great step by War Child Holland, to support learning in the country."

"If this works, we can see how other schools may benefi t from this initiative. As government, we do not have the resources to do it. But with support of development partners, we know this is possible," Kakooza said.

He added that the Government is trying to help children keep learning during the schools' closure. Schools were closed on March 20 by President Yoweri Museveni, to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Apart from the reading materials printed and distributed to communities by the Government, there is also a plan to distribute radios to households countrywide. New Vision and Bukedde newspapers also publish reading materials daily.

The headteacher of Nalongo C.O.U Primary School thanked the Government and War Child Holland, for giving them an opportunity to pilot the project at the institution.

Tuhairwe said the iPads will be given to particular pupils in a given class, and teachers will be sending content to them. The pupils are expected to use the gadgets to revise, with the help of their parents.

Nalongo C.O.U Primary School was started in the 1940s. It is located on the Gulu highway and has 249 girls out of a total enrolment of 555 pupils. It has 15 teachers and of these, 11 are on the Government payroll.

Country director for Africa regional representative of War Child Holland Jan Jaap Kleinrensink, during the function, said the organisation is willing to support the Government embrace technology in supporting learning during COVID-19.

"War Child Holland has been working for years in the refugee communities, but COVID-19 hit the world. We are willing to support schools in the country to use technology in the learning process, by providing iPads to the institutions," he said

He added that they have installed content from the Uganda curriculum, as approved by the National Curriculum Development Centre, to be used by pupils.

Pupils will receive work from their teachers through the iPads.