Teachers asked to counsel pupils as schools reopen

Teachers in Tororo district have been asked to offer psychosocial guidance and counselling of pupils when schools reopen for candidate classes next week.

The Uganda National Teachers' Union (UNATU) chairperson for Tororo municipality, Clare Adikinyi, said a number of children have experienced trauma such as sexual abuse and neglect during the lockdown. She said this calls for teachers' efforts to restore hope in them.

"As I speak today, the number of teenage pregnancies is high due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown. I appeal to every teacher to create a platform of counselling the pupils to restore hope in them before engaging in serious teaching as the second term for candidate classes resumes,'' Adikinyi said.

Speaking during the ‘scientific' World Teachers' Day celebrations at Rock View Primary School in Tororo on Monday, Adikinyi also appealed to all school leaders to embrace tree planting to restore the depleted environment. Several tree seedlings were planted during the half-day exercise.

The Rock View Primary School headteacher, Bernadette Olokojo, said the lockdown affected the education sector most because teachers could not perform their duty of nurturing the young generation, hence the increased cases of pregnancies.

She said in her school three pregnancies have been registered during the lockdown.

The municipal education officer, Teddy Makola, said it has not been easy to maintain the schools during the lockdown due to limited funds from the Government for normal maintenance of the infrastructure.

She said this has left a number of schools in a sorry state.

Makola said the role of teachers is being recognised by parents, who are lamenting and asking when the schools will reopen because they are tired of staying with their children at home.

"Most of the parents are tired of performing their parenting roles and children are also fed up with staying home. As teachers, we are going to meet frustrated children. So we should be prepared to meet children with mixed feelings," she said.