Govt finalises plans to distribute radios to households

Oct 26, 2020

As soon as the government releases the funds to pay for the radios, they will immediately be sent to the households upcountry

Government's plan to send radios to various households in the country to help the parents and students who stayed home due to COVID-19, to continue with revision is in advanced stages.

The education ministry's permanent secretary Alex Kakooza says, "We are left with signing the contract for the distribution. All the other processes are already done."

He explained that as soon as the government releases the funds to pay for the radios, they will immediately be sent to the households upcountry.

The move was taken by the government, to take care of students who have not returned to school during COVID-19. Teachers will be tasked to teach students, through using the broadcast stations.

The move follows the release of digital homework to homes, last week. The homework, prepared by the National Curriculum Development Centre, can be obtained on its online portals.

The director for basic and secondary education Hajji Ismael Mulindwa dsys the procurement of radios is on course and that the hard copy reading materials will also be delivered soon.

"We are about to finish the process of having the hard copies with the homework and they will later be sent to various parts of the country," he explained.

The First Lady and education minister Janet Museveni speaking to Vision Group in an exclusive interview last month, explained that the students in continuing classes, will be expected to keep home and revise; using live and recorded materials on the broadcast stations, recorded messages on online platforms and the printed materials.

"The government is set to invest in all these platforms to ensure all learners are reached, countrywide," she said.

"When we have ascertained that it is safer and possible to get all the students back at school, they will report and get assessed by their teachers on what they have learned while at home; which will form the basis for their promotion to the next class," she explained. "There will be no dead year and we are doing all we can to ensure that all children learn, wherever they are," she added.

The First Lady added that this revision, "Should get learners, to a level of learning achievement for promotion to the next class if the situation does not warrant having them to go back to school before the end of the academic year. However, progression shall be based on the evaluation, of how effectively homeschooling has been implemented."

She also noted that the Government plans to distribute nine million radios to various households around the country, to enhance homeschooling.

"The Special needs learners have also been taken care of when we were preparing the materials. Sign language lessons in all core subjects and braille and large print for the visually impaired in the primary section has been completed, while adaptation for secondary materials has also started."

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