Primary Education in Uganda

Primary Education in Uganda
A personal view John Whiteley My name is John Whiteley, and I’m delighted to be here today, and I would like to express my gratitude for the invitation to come and talk to you.

Schoolteacher for 45 years; started teaching in 1967
Who am I? John Whiteley From Wigan UK Over 60! Schoolteacher for 45 years; started teaching in 1967 Degree in theology Spent much of my educational life as a deputy head in a British senior comprehensive school Joined VSO in 2009 and came to work with the inspectorate in Masindi. Since 2011 have been looking into the issues involved in teaching the Ugandan primary curriculum in typical Ugandan schools. John Whiteley From Wigan UK Over 60! Schoolteacher for 45 years; started teaching in 1967 Degree in theology Spent much of my educational life as a deputy head in a British senior comprehensive school. Joined VSO in 2009 and came to work with the inspectorate in Masindi. Since 2011 have been looking into the issues involved in teaching the Ugandan primary curriculum in typical Ugandan schools. I came to think that I wasn’t really qualified to inspect schools in Uganda because I didn't understand the real life situations in which Ugandan teachers found themselves, and why they taught in the way that they did. So last year I started to visit three schools once per week. Even that wasn’t enough, and this year I have been spending every day, for the past two terms in one school. I have talked for hours to the teachers and the children. I have watched many lessons. And I have taught lessons. When I arrived in January the teacher for P7 English was away on a course. So I got a copy of the syllabus and taught P7 English for two weeks until she returned. The P6 English teacher was also away, so I taught them English as well. Ladies and gentlemen it was an eye-opener, and P7 with only 42 pupils was easy compared with P6 which had 75. Ladies and gentlemen these have been the best six months of my teaching life bar none. I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. Your teachers are lovely, your children are wonderful. I’m not saying that they are terribly hard working, far from it. They can look as bored as any British teenager. And it is difficult to get them out of their comfort zone and to try something new. But most of them are very friendly and they are exquisitely polite. Every morning when I go into P7, they say, “Sir, you are most welcome.” In over 40 years of teaching in the UK, no child has ever said that to me; in Uganda they say I every day. It is wonderful. I know why I like your children so much. It is their innocence and their sense of personal responsibility. They come to school. They go home, they fetch water, they dig. And that is their life. Ladies and gentlemen, no child in the UK has to carry 20 litre jerricans a kilometre or more to get water to his house. No child in the UK has to dig or starve. This teaches your children responsibility from a very early age. Your children do not smoke cigarettes, which 25% of British schoolchildren do. They do not get drunk on alcohol at weekends, which a large number of British schoolchildren do. They do not take illegal drugs, a growing problem in British schools, because they aren’t around here to take. Your children are innocent. And I love them because of that and I want to do the best for them. I have not always been successful, far from it. On many occasions I have come away from a lesson thinking that I could have done that a lot better. Indeed I have continued to teach some of P7’s English every day, so at least a proportion of their PLE grade that they will receive in January will depend on work I have done with them. I feel that this responsibility lies heavily upon me. But please remember that I have taught your children. Any British schoolteacher given the opportunity to teach a P7 class in Uganda for a year would think that he had died and gone to heaven. It is such a lovely experience. Please remember in everything I say to you, that I say because I love the children of Uganda.

What have I been doing? I decided that I had nothing to say to teachers in Uganda if I did not start from where they are. And they are in the classroom and they start from the syllabus. So I got the syllabuses. All of these are in my possession. Although their unquestioning adherence to the syllabuses is to be admired, it can also create problems for education.

Ogunga Primary School, Kiryandongo District, 16th October 2009
I took this picture in October I think this is Primary Five. I counted 165 heads in this picture. To be honest I must tell you that Ogunga has new classrooms by now but they may still be as crowded. But I wouldn't be surprised if their Primary Five class is just as big as this was. In 2010, the last year for which I have figures, only 30 children from Ogunga sat the PLE, 24 boys and 6 girls. No-one got a division 1. But I show this to you because this is the reality of so many schools still in Uganda. The teachers have to teach your syllabus in conditions like this. I try never to forget that. I counted 165 heads!

Natural and artificial forests P4 SST
So what have I been doing? Well, I’ve found out what the teachers are teaching, and if their presentation seems perhaps a little turgid, if it’s just talk and chalk, I’ve tried to deal with the topic a bit differently in the hope that the children will understand better. This was Primary Four learning about natural and artificial forests. I wasn’t sure that they really got it, and certainly not sure that they could remember all the names. So we made a game out of it. After notes on the board the children were taken outside and played a version of “Simon says”. The teacher shouted out “natural”, “artificial”, or the name of a forest of those kinds (“Budongo”, “Katugo”), and the children had to either stand in a random shape (like trees in natural forests) or run quickly to attention in an 8 x 8 block (like trees in a plantation) because there were 64 of them as it happened. There were 8 different calls. Last one to do it, or those who got it wrong, were out. Cost: nil. Being an “artificial forest”, all standing the same way in rows Being a “natural forest”, standing anyhow

Ones, tenths, hundredths and thousands, P5 Mathematics
P5 Decimals and fractions (mathematics, term 2, 66 in the class). I took in a newspaper (1,500/=) and each desk had a page. That was 1 (or 1.0). Then we tore it into ten pieces, each of which was 1/10 or 0.1. Each of those was torn into 10 (1/100 or 0.01), and finally each of those was torn into 10 to become 1/1000 or 0.001, about 1 centimetre square. Lots of holding bits of paper up in the air and repeatedly counting up to 10. The teacher wrote suitable lists of fractions and decimals on the board (dutifully copied by the children). Finally all of them had one of each of the three sizes glued into their books. Cost 1,500/= or nil if the newspaper can be found from somewhere. I did cut these with a pair of scissors, the children has to cut theirs by tearing against ruler, so it wasn’t quite as neat.

Friction P7 Science P7 Friction 1 (science, term 2, 42 in class) Interleave 2 large books (the old syllabuses are ideal) as shown below, press out the air, and it will be impossible to pull them apart! Cost: nil. Friction 2 (science, term 2, 42 in class) Ask the children to sample pairs of surfaces and identify which offers the greater friction – simple, but the children were not used to doing any kind of experiments. Cost: nil.

Sequences P4 Mathematics
P4 Sequences (mathematics, term 2, 61 in class). There never seem to be enough examples to try in mathematics, and often there are too many words on the board. The teacher was doing sequences, and gave the class six examples, of mixed addition and subtraction. I thought this was insufficient in quantity but too complex in nature. The following day I went in with 60 examples of sequential addition from the simple to the difficult. The questions could have been differentially marked (1 mark each for column 1, 2 for column 2, etc). The children could have started anywhere, with the brightest, for example starting at column 4. They had one whole hour in which to work and they all kept at it all the time. In the event, even the brightest children started at column 1 (the teacher did not instruct otherwise). I think there is value in setting many more, non verbal examples in mathematics. The children do not practise the basics often enough. I suppose this might have been a bit OTT. Developments on this would be welcome. Cost: nil In the event this was more successful than I thought it might be. 4 children managed around 45 of the 60 questions with almost total success, by which time they were adding up in 7’s. At the other end were about 8 who were all at sea, barely being able to add up in 1’s. The rest were spread out between, though most could add up in 2’s. Obviously the teachers go around throughout the lesson observing and helping. Children need to be discouraged from coming out to have their book marked. Better to keep on working. It took me 90 minutes to mark all the books; there’s an issue here. Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Column 5 Column 6 Adding in 1’s and 2’s Adding in 2’s and 3’s Adding in 4’s and 5’s Adding in 6’s and 8’s Adding in 7’s and 9’s Adding in 11’s and various

Bee drama, to explain the swarming habits of bees
Feeding one of the larvae with royal jelly Worker bees doing all the work P5 Bees (science, term 2, 56 in class) The teacher had given two pages of notes which the children dutifully repeated, and then set some simple questions which some got right and some got wrong. She was making really heavy weather of it. Involvement was minimal. So we divided the children into four groups (hives!) and performed the bee drama at the end of this document. The full text is on the wall. This picture shows the queen laying eggs in the hexagonal cell! Cost nil and it was a good way to spend Friday afternoon. Queen mating with drone Queen laying eggs in a hexagonal cell

Subtraction of decimals, P5 Mathematics
No borrowing Borrowing in one column Borrowing in two columns Repeated from left hand side of board P5 Subtraction of decimals (mathematics, term 2, 96 in class) In the previous lesson the teacher had set four examples for the class to do, which he had marked. I felt that the children needed much more practice and set them 30 examples, 10 with no borrowing, 10 with borrowing in one column, and 10 with borrowing in 2 columns. The children were given 45 minutes for the work. About a quarter of them finished within the time, though no-one scored full marks. The lesson lasted 80 minutes. Cost: nil. The number of children in the class was books were handed in and 87 marks were recorded; I cannot explain the discrepancy but with such large numbers it is not surprising. Potentially there were 2,880 sums to be marked. We got the children to mark each other’s work. The children exchanged books to avoid cheating (not easy). Marking took 15 minutes. I checked the books afterwards and, in my judgement, at least half the books were accurately marked and the results correctly totalled. Four books were badly marked. The rest were marked mostly correctly, the main problem being incorrect totalling of the ticks. The marks were recorded in a mark book by three pupils. It took them 50 minutes. The average mark was 15/30, varying between 2/30 and 29/30. Any pupils who scored fewer than 20 are obviously having problems with borrowing. The teacher did a follow-up lesson on borrowing. Without this exercise he would not have done.7 Did this lesson “work”? If the alternative is experiencing phases that allow only 4 examples, I think it is a risk worth taking. I believe there are techniques that could be used to improve the quality of the children’s marking of each other’s work.

Relationships, P6 English, group work
Who is the (1) grandmother of Joan (7) son-in-law of Hellen, etc What is the relation of (1) Enid to Jane (7) Peter to Francis, etc P6 Relationships (English, term 2, only 50 in class) There is quite a bit of new vocabulary in the P6 syllabus. The class had copied down two family trees into their books earlier in the week; one was a standard three generational model, the other had step siblings and half siblings. Some work had already been done on the family trees. But to see how well the children understood the significance of the parts of a family tree, we put twenty questions on the board asking them to identify relationships between various names. To make the activity more interactive, the children were divided into 8 groups. The groups had to agree the answers to the twenty questions, one pupil wrote down the answers and all the members of each group got the same mark, so giving them some incentive to make sure that the group got the right answer. Cost: four pieces of paper or nil.

Reading, all years P4 Reading (81 in class) How to help children to learn to read when so many of them still cannot read at P4 level, and when there are no books? However, although many schools have no books, many others have books, but of the “wrong” sort – wrong year, wrong subject. This school has a set of 48 P3 Social Studies books, 9 years old and hardly ever used (because P3 social studies is taught in Runyoro). But the books had a large clear typeface, and relatively simple syntax and vocabulary. Why not use them to teach reading? This is a set of P3 SST books, never used because P3 are taught in Runyoro. But they are written in English, with a large typeface, and the syntax is relatively simple. They could be reading books for any year group.

Combustion, P5, Science When the bottle was sealed, the candle went out after five seconds because all the oxygen had been used up. P5 Combustion (term 2, matter and energy) This experiment was to show that combustion needs oxygen and that once the oxygen has been used up, combustion ceases. A lighted candle was placed in the lid of a bottle and the bottle carefully placed over the candle and the lid was screwed up to the bottle. Within 5 seconds the candle went out. There were two additional but unexpected consequences. First, after the bottle had been sealed and the candle extinguished, the bottle partially collapsed under the external air pressure since 20% of the contents (the oxygen) had been used up. The bottle returned to its original shape when the lid was unscrewed. Second, when the candle had been relit, and the bottle placed over the candle for the second time, the candle was extinguished almost immediately, probably because of the carbon dioxide that had accumulated in the bottle. Cost: empty bottle, half a candle.

Distance, speed and time, P6, Mathematics
A length of road was measured using a 10 metre length of string. The speed of passing vehicles could be calculated by measuring the time taken to pass between two points visible from the classroom. P6 Distance, speed and time (mathematics, term 2) The school is on a main (murram) road and there is a fair amount of passing traffic. A piece of string was cut to 10 metres length (laid repeatedly between chalk marks on a desk, these measured with 15cm rulers), and was used to measure the distance between two signs visible from the classroom; the distance was 231 metres. The speed (V) of passing vehicles would be calculated in metres per second (m/s) by this formula, V = 231/T, where T is the time in seconds taken for the vehicle to pass between the signs. Kilometres per hour (kph) can be found by multiplying this result by 3.6. The timing was done by the school clock (which has a second hand). Cost: a piece of string, or nil if a grass skipping rope made by the girls could be used to measure lengths. If the distance had been approximated to 240 metres, more and simpler calculations would be possible.

Drawing angles, P5, Mathematics
P5 Drawing angles (mathematics, term 2, 75 in class) This was the follow-up to the bad lesson on the day before. I had made a really bad job of that lesson. The maths teacher had begun geometry with P5, and had shown them how to construct angles with a protractor. He then set them to draw three examples, including an obtuse angle, which he marked in class. I did not think that three examples were nearly enough for this crucial skill. He was absent for the next lesson, and I decided that I would teach the class and give them more practice in drawing angles. After repeating the explanation about how to use a protractor, I gave them 7 more examples including three obtuse angles. I gave a reasonable explanation of how to use a protractor, but hadn’t really thought out the lesson after putting the seven angles on the board. It didn’t go well. The children behaved and got on with it, but when I went through the books afterwards, about two thirds could not draw the angles. Their books were a mess as well. I had not thought out how they should set out the work. Worse, 26 of them had not handed in their books, probably because they couldn’t do the work. The failure rate was therefore over 75%. But this time I had prepared carefully, and the class teacher was there to assist the children. There was nothing particularly innovative about this lesson, but I include it to show the importance of proper preparation. This time I did not include obtuse angles, leaving those for a subsequent lesson. It is also important for teachers to work together with large classes. First I spent a great deal of time showing them how to set out their work. The page was divided, and the six base lines were drawn in the right places before any angles were constructed. This meant that the pages looked good, even if the work was not a success. We spent a lot of time on the first angle (30°) and both of us went round to ensure that the children knew where to place the centre point of the protractor. Then we set five other angles. The whole lesson lasted 70 minutes. Nearly everyone finished because the actual business of drawing angles is not lengthy once the instructions have been given. All the books were handed in and more than 80% of the pupils got 4/6 or better with many getting full marks; we only allowed around 3° tolerance on either side. The two of us shared the marking which took 40 minutes. Cost: nil.

Guided composition, “jumbled up story”, P4 – P7 English
P6 Guided composition (English, 56 in class) Since the composition is not guided, nor composed by the children, a much better name would be “Jumbled up story”; this is an inevitable part of PLE English and every commercially produced test from P4 onwards. It is a very good test of understanding, but can be difficult, even for a native speaker of English, and I am not convinced that there is only one right answer. As an exercise it is made for group work. The children were divided into 9 groups of 6 or 7, and told to work out the correct sequence through discussion. At the end they recorded their marks on the board. They were very much on-task in their groups, but as can be seen from the results table, they did not do very well. The whole exercise took 100 minutes and we had not really shown them why our version of the proper order was correct. I mention the time because one of the points I shall be making later is that it is not helpful to say that the standard lesson should last fro 40 minutes. A lesson should be as long as it needs to be to do the work and to help the children to achieve some understanding. Each member of the group was awarded the mark for the group. This type of exercise should be done every week or fortnight from P4 onwards. Verdict: quite good, but could have been better. Cost: Nil.

Digestive system, P5, Science
P5 Digestive system (term 2, science, 80 in class) Teachers sometimes have difficulty in knowing what to put and what to leave out in this topic (e.g. names of enzymes). The teacher had spent three lessons on a diagram and some quite wordy notes on the chalkboard (which most of the children couldn’t read, but that’s another issue). In order to give them a feel of the processes, we divided them into six sections – mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and anus. A pupil (the food) entered the mouth, which chopped at him. He was passed (pushed?) down the oesophagus by peristalsis. The stomach opened and closed on him to help start the digestion. He was squeezed along the small intestine, again by peristalsis. In the colon pupils sucked the water out of him, and he was pushed out of the anus into a convenient ditch (the latrine). The pupils, in their groups also tried to learn a poem about digestion. The sublime stanzas can be found here. There is an issue here. The teacher was unable to make up her mind how many enzymes the children should be able to name because thy are named in the text book, and of course the text book is always right. Most of them had no chance of reading the words at all. Should Cost: nil.

Digestive system, poem Into the small intestine
where the food goes next in line. It’s a long tube, there’s no doubt, several metres all stretched out. Much digestion goes on here, enzymes come from the liver to break down the proteins fast, carbohydrates, fats are last. Next the colon, it’s quite fat, takes the liquid out, and that means that what’s left, our faeces, can come out from us with ease. Most important in all this – what we call peristalsis. Squeezes food along the tract so that digestion can act. The anus is last to show in our bottoms, as you know. Out come faeces, briefly seen, as they drop in the latrine. Digestive system I’m the mouth and I’ve got teeth at the top, and underneath. Chop the food up nice and small, so we can digest it all! I am the oesophagus; I take food in a bolus to the stomach deep within for digestion to begin. In the stomach there’s no rest – lots of juices, they’re the best at dissolving all our food so that it will do us good. There is lots of acid here, hydrochloric, that is clear, kills the germs and makes enough digestive enzymes do their stuff. On page 28 of the P5 syllabus, it gives a s a suggested activity “Reciting rhymes about the digestive system.” What rhymes do you know about the digestive system? In P5 science they also have to write stories about bee farming. That could be a challenge.

A maximum and minimum thermometer (NOT a Six’s thermometer!!)
And one little grumble about the P5 syllabus. Why does it still insist calling a maximum and minimum thermometer a Six’s thermometer (page 35 of the syllabus). I had never heard that name before I came to Uganda. The syllabus doesn’t say why it’s called Six’s thermometer, and the teachers have no idea. But they still write it on the board. Does it have six bits? No. It’s because it was invented by someone called James Six. The children don’t need to know that and the additional information is confusing. Maximum and minimum is what they need to know. Most children in Uganda will have no idea how it works, anyway, because it’s very complicated, and have you ever tried to get one in Uganda? My science supplier doesn’t have them. I had to bring one back from the UK. The children do not need to know the name Six’s thermometer. That’s one of many examples I have found of the syllabus including something without any thought of how, if at all, it can be taught, or indeed whether it needs to be taught.

Inertia learning for English vocabulary, P4 – P7
Holiday Activities P7 work Vocabulary study (verb) meaning – to apply one’s mind to learning, perhaps to a particular subject example – “I am going home to study mathematics.” farm (noun) meaning – a piece of land belonging to a person which is used for growing crops or raising animals example – “I am going to dig on my uncle’s farm.” tour (noun) meaning – a journey to visit several destinations example – “I am going on a tour to America.” tour (verb) meaning – to make a journey to visit several destinations example – “We are going to tour America.” camp (noun) meaning – a place where people stay in temporary shelters example – “We went to the camp in Bweyale.” camp (verb) meaning – to stay in temporary shelters example – “We shall camp in Pakanyi.” visit (verb) meaning – to stay at a place for a short time, for social reasons example – “We shall visit my aunt in Hoima.” P4 – P7 Vocabulary (English, all terms) From P4 to P7 each topic has a list of vocabulary to be taught. The usual method is for the teacher to write the vocabulary onto the chalkboard, talk about it, and the children copy it down. An exercise may be set. Then it is rubbed off. I wondered if it might be possible to use some inertia teaching here. The teacher should write the notes on cheap paper, in 20-point type, and attach it to the walls a week before it is required. There may be several pieces of paper. During the week, the children copy from the sheets into their books. If the class is huge, there is still plenty of time, and the children can copy the sheets in any order and at their own pace. The children are told to 1) copy down the notes neatly and carefully, 2) read them aloud to each other, 3) talk about the words in English, and 4) ask when they do not understand. When, after a week, the teacher comes to teach about the vocabulary, the children have it already in their books, and have begun, even if only marginally, to assimilate it. This should make the teaching more purposeful. The children are having a second go at it. They can take their time copying, and if they are away for a day or two, they have not missed. The sheets are placed where several children can read from them at once. I typed them, but they could easily be handwritten. The papers can be attached with masking tape (temporary) or flour paste (permanent). If the former, they can be kept for the following year. I have used this since January with P7. They have not been conscientious about working with each other. But I still think that is better than using the chalkboard alone. I also provided some sheets for P5. Cost: paper at 16/= a sheet, glue or masking tape.

How to learn vocabulary, and other things
Learning vocabulary Copy the words NEATLY AND CAREFULLY into your books. Read what you have written ALOUD to each other. TALK TO EACH OTHER in English about the words. ASK if you do not understand something. The P7 pupils I was working with were not terribly good about this, but I still think these would be valuable ways of helping themselves to learn. If they had started earlier, they might be more used to it by now.

Rotations and revolutions, P5, Mathematics
P5 rotations and revolutions (term 2, mathematics, 89 in the class) There is nothing special about this activity, except that it probably doesn’t happen anything like enough. The children had to learn about the relationship between turns and degrees, at least for the four quarter turns. They had done some work outside on the previous day, drawing circles with their feet. They copied down the notes about rotations and degrees into their books, though some, the non-readers, had difficulty. Then we went outside and played a version of “Simon says”. There were nine possible commands, so it was challenging. After plenty of practice examples, it became a knockout game, with the slowest or those who got it wrong being eliminated. The children played fair, and once out, stayed out. We stopped the game with about 30 left who were not going to be fooled. This work was followed up two days later with a test to see how much had been understood. There were 16 questions. The board said that there were 85 children in class. I counted 87, but I only managed to collect 83 books. Two children had no idea and scored zero. Two more scored 1. About 15 scored 16/16, full marks. The average was 8.55/16 (710 ÷ 83). The most common mistake was to confuse a quarter turn with a half turn. Several children did not understand the request to name the figures (e.g. “quarter turn”, etc.). It took me an hour to mark the books. Cost: nil

Use of “whose”, P5, English
The children, in their groups, had to agree on the answers. P5 Use of “whose” (English, term 2, 87 in class. This does not appear as a structure in the new syllabus. The teacher followed a text book because she could not cope with the prescribed topic, the internet). The teacher explained the use of “whose” as a relative pronoun and gave examples of how it might be used to join two sentences. Then she gave the class ten examples on the board which all the children copied down. The 87 children were randomly allocated to 22 groups of four, and sent outside or kept inside to agree on the right answers. One child wrote down the “agreed” answers. I suspect that many children did not really participate, and if the scribe seemed to be coping, left her/him to get on with it. However, it reduced the marking load for the teacher, and gave some of the children more to do. She would otherwise have set three examples. In the event, one group scored zero, one scored 7 and one scored 12. All the others scored between 17 and 20. The average was 16.6/20. Cost: nil.

Debates, P4 – P7, English, SST, Science
P7 Influence of Europeans in Africa (SST, term 2, 31 in class) At the end of the topic, P7 held a debate with the motion being “Europeans have done more good than harm in Africa”. After the national anthem, the children were endearingly formal and exquisitely polite, (everyone is “honourable”) and many were prepared to stand up and speak. But the standard of the speeches was low, and no pupil was able to move beyond the teacher’s notes. Many schools do put on debates. I know of a rural school that has one every Friday afternoon involving P5, P6 and P7. But many more schools do not hold debates, and it would certainly be beneficial to the pupils to have this opportunity on a regular basis. SST and English topics frequently lend themselves to debate. Practice would improve matters considerably. (Who won? I don’t know because a vote was not taken, though the secretary awarded points for something or other!) Cost: nil.

CAPE, PE, P4 P4 P.E. (term 2, 75 in the class) This was all of the teacher’s devising. It was simply a very good P.E. lesson, delivered by a conscientious teacher, using ideas from the new teacher’s resource book for P.E., I counted at least 10 different activities, some with song, which involved all of the children all of the time. The sad thing is that P5, P6 and P7 will never enjoy the same experience. Cost: nil

Maths work cards, P1 – P3 P1 Work cards (mathematics, term 2, 57 in class) In previous lessons these had been tried with P2 but this was not particularly successful. On this occasion we made pockets for the cards, and started them sequentially with the children in P1 who could count up to ten and write their numbers. Use of these cards requires a different approach from the teacher. There is much less lesson preparation, but ultimately more marking, and the teacher has to keep records of each child’s progress through the cards, which is not too difficult once the book has been ruled. One could also use a manila on the wall for recording. Since there is doubt over whether simple board work is sufficient for children to acquire numeracy in P1 – P3, these cards, if available in the school, have to be worth trying. But they are not easy to use. Cost: around 28,000/= for 8 sets of pockets. But the syllabus does not know about these cards, and so there is no encouragement for teachers to use them.

CAPE, Art and craft, all years
Various classes Art and craft These are pictures form various schools where art and craft happen regularly. These are all activities organised by the teachers. Sadly this does not happen in all schools. All schools have access to dust on the ground and banana fibre (with the exception of some Kampala schools, I suspect). But baskets require reeds, which are only available if the school is near a swamp. Ropes need sisal which is not always available, though it can be grown in schools. Cost: nil.

Millennium Development Goals
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV / AIDS, malaria and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Develop a global partnership for development In 2000, 189 countries signed up for these goals with the intention that they should have been met by Education can have an influence on all these goals. Education can have an influence on all of these goals.

Millennium Development Goal 2
Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. Uganda has been hugely successful in getting children into primary schools. It has been less successful in retaining those children to the end of Primary Seven. If children do not complete Primary Seven, Uganda will be much less successful in meeting the other Development Goals. Uganda has been hugely successful in getting children into primary schools It has been less successful in retaining those children to the end of Primary Seven. If children do not complete Primary Seven, Uganda will be much less successful in meeting the other Development Goals.

Why do children not complete Primary Seven?
What are the figures? 2003 Number of children in Primary One – 1,914,893 2009 Number of children who were registered for the PLE – 511,123 How many children drop our before they complete Primary Seven? It depends which statistics you use. Here are mine. In this government document on the left its says that 1,914,893 children were registered in Primary One in Six years later, in 2009, according to UNEB 511,123 children took the PLE. This year about 560,000 children are registered for the PLE. If you can find the enrolment figured for 2006, you can work out what the drop out is between those two years. 73% of the 2003 cohort did not complete Primary 7.

Why do children not complete Primary Seven?
Responsibilities at home – early marriage – taken to work in the fields or family business – death - transferred to other schools - sickness But behind many of these reasons is the fact that children (or their parents) don’t see the point of staying in school. Why not – because they cannot do the work and they are failing. What is the point of staying on? If they were succeeding at school they would be much more likely to stay. When the inspectors do monitoring, they ask for the reasons for drop-out, and tick the appropriate box. Even if pupils transfer to other schools they should still show up in national figures somewhere. But behind all this is the fact that children and their parents don’t see the point of staying in school, only to fail again and again. So they go.

Why are children failing in Primary Schools?
This school bought end-of-year tests from Kampala Examination Services. Abitekaniza Jackline scored 1%, and she was not alone. There were many children who results were below 10%. Will Abitekaniza Jackline complete Primary Seven? I don’t think so. Abitekaniza’s parents paid 1,000/= to be told that their daughter scored 1%. Will they want to keep her in school? I don’t think so. And this is happening all across the country. And they do fail. I show you this one example of one pupil in one school. I have seen this dozens of times in four schools in which I have worked closely. In November 2010, Abitekaniza Jackline paid 1,000/= to sit four exam papers set by Kampala Educational Services. She scored 1%. I don’t expect to see her in Primary Seven.

Why did the school buy tests like these?
. . . Because on page 18 of Basic Requirements and Minimum Standards it says, “At the end of each term the learner does end-of-term examinations . . .” The school cannot afford to produce its own written papers at the low cost offered by Kampala Examination Services, or other providers, so they buy from them. Unfortunately, many of these tests, particularly for P4, are utterly unsuitable for the learners. This document, Basic Requirements and minimum standards contains, by my counting, 347 items which schools must have or procedures they must follow. Most are the responsibility to the school to organise and pay for. Only about 20 are someone else’s responsibility.

Reasons beyond the control of NCDC Underfunding of the education service leading to crumbling buildings, huge classes and few or no resources. The national obsession with PLE results, often shared by inspectors and district education officers. Difficulties over language, particularly the transition from local language to English. Life for many primary teachers, especially those in rural areas, (i.e. most of the country), is tough and not conducive to reflective and experimental education. Many primary teachers are not particularly well educated themselves. Reasons beyond the control of NCDC. There’s not much you can do immediately about these. Underfunding of the education service leading to crumbling buildings, huge classes and few or no resources. The national obsession with PLE results, often shared by inspectors and district education officers. Difficulties over language, particularly the transition from local language to English. Life for many primary teachers, especially those in rural areas, (i.e. most of the country), is tough and not conducive to reflective and experimental education. Many primary teachers are not particularly well educated themselves.

Reasons within the control of NCDC The curriculum, especially in P6 and P7 is inappropriate for children in the lower half of the ability range. It is not enough to say that children of low ability should be given special treatment. They need a different syllabus. Conscientious teachers feel that they must teach all of the curriculum without regard to whether children are learning. They receive the impression, from the syllabus books, government instructions, documents like BRMS, and the attitude of inspectors and CCT’s, that education is just a matter of following the rules. It is not. They are not encouraged to experiment with the curriculum or ask crucial questions, such as, “Are the children learning?” An acknowledgement (in the P6 syllabus page xiv) that the PLE examination is something to be anxious about. But there is more to life (and education) than the PLE. You could do something about these. Reasons within the control of NCDC The curriculum, especially in P6 and P7 is inappropriate for children in the lower half of the ability range. It is not enough to say that children of low ability should be given special treatment. They need a different syllabus. Conscientious teachers feel that they must teach all of the curriculum without regard to whether children are learning. They receive the impression, from the syllabus books, government instructions, documents like BRMS, and the attitude of inspectors and CCT’s, that education is just a matter of following the rules. It is not. They are not encouraged to experiment with the curriculum or ask crucial questions, such as, “Are the children learning?” An acknowledgement (in the P6 syllabus page xiv) that the PLE examination is something to be anxious about. But there is more to life (and education) than the PLE.

Reasons within the control of NCDC 4. Many prescriptions seem to be written without regard to the abilities of the teachers or the children. For example, in P6 science children have to read or write stories about caring for and protecting vertebrates and invertebrates, sound, energy and the ear, the composition and functions of blood, and diseases and disorders of the heart and circulatory system. In my experience most children find enough difficulty in writing a story about what they did yesterday. 5. The integrated science syllabus is overloaded with facts and far too short on scientific enquiry. Teachers use text books, and if the text books include words like monocotyledon and dicotyledon (Primary Four!), the teachers try to teach these to the children, because they are in the text book. This does not help the children to enjoy science. Reasons within the control of NCDC 4. Many prescriptions seem to be written without regard to the abilities of the teachers or the children. For example, in P6 science children have to read or write stories about caring for and protecting vertebrates and invertebrates, sound, energy and the ear, the composition and functions of blood, and diseases and disorders of the heart and circulatory system. In my experience most children find enough difficulty in writing a story about they did yesterday. Which of us could write a story about the composition and functions of blood? 5. The integrated science syllabus is overloaded with facts and far too short on scientific enquiry. Teachers use text books, and if the text books include words like monocotyledon and dicotyledon (Primary Four!), the teachers try to teach these to the children, because they are in the text book. This does not help the children to enjoy science.

Reasons within the control of NCDC 6. The forty minute lesson – “Each lesson in P5/P6/P7 shall last for 40 minutes” and the same is implied for P4. The syllabus allows double lessons for practical subjects. A lesson should be as long as necessary for the child to learn and understand. 40 minutes is not long enough for large classes, older children or extended work. (The BRMS prescription that there shall be “at least eight lessons” in a day should also be challenged.) 7. There has to be more FUN in education CAPE is naturally enjoyable for most children, and there are references to games, puzzles ands riddles in other syllabuses. BUT the general approach is humourless and didactic. Education in Uganda is about BEING TOLD, not about DISCOVERY. Reasons within the control of NCDC 6. The forty minute lesson – “Each lesson in P5/P6/P7 shall last for 40 minutes” and the same is implied for P4. The syllabus allows double lessons for practical subjects. A lesson should be as long as necessary for the child to learn and understand. 40 minutes is not long enough for large classes, older children or extended work. (The BRMS prescription that there shall be “at least eight lessons” in a day should also be challenged.) 7. There has to be more FUN in education CAPE is naturally enjoyable for most children, and there are references to games, puzzles ands riddles in other syllabuses. BUT the general approach is humourless and didactic. Education in Uganda is about BEING TOLD, not about DISCOVERY.

Observations about Primary Five, Integrated science, Term III, Theme 5, Managing changes in the environment The maximum time available is only 18 x 40 minute lessons. Many children will be only 11 years old. Most children will be struggling with English. The following topics are substantial studies in themselves –fermentation, respiration (not studied until P6), earthquakes, placement faulting, volcanic action, mountain formation, rain formation. (Since “mountain formation” is not an observable change, why is it here?) There are 12 letters in the word “fermentation”. The classification into biological, physical and chemical changes is an abstract concept beyond the capacity of P5 children to grasp. I’m going to make some observation about just one topic in the Primary Five syllabus to illustrate what I mean about “Many prescriptions seem to be written without regard to the abilities of the teachers or the children.” Don’t forget, this syllabus has been revised in the past few years. Some committee has agreed that this syllabus is appropriate for most schools in Uganda. For these reasons, I disagree. The maximum time available is only 18 x 40 minute lessons. Many children will be only 11 years old. Most children will be struggling with English. The following topics are substantial studies in themselves – fermentation, respiration (not studied until P6), earthquakes, placement faulting, volcanic action, mountain formation, rain formation. (Since “mountain formation” is not an observable change, why is it here?). There are 12 letters in the word “fermentation”. The classification into biological, physical and chemical changes is an abstract concept beyond the capacity of P5 children to grasp.

Observations about Primary Five, Integrated science, Term III, Theme 5, Managing changes in the environment The consequences of changes do not include death and injury, which are common results of earthquakes, landslides and volcanic action. “Reciting poems”, “role playing” and “writing and singing songs about environmental changes” are far from easy for your average Ugandan teacher to organise, and would occupy a good deal of time. Content 2, “Characteristics of various types of changes to the environment” is not explained and has no examples. Why is it there? Content 3 “Change of state”, “new things are formed” and placement of things” seem vague and rather pointless. Assessment activity 3, “Describe ways of managing different changes that happen in our environment” is a huge subject in itself, and is not explained. The consequences of changes do not include death and injury, which are common results of earthquakes, landslides and volcanic action. “Reciting poems”, “role playing” and “writing and singing songs about environmental changes” are far from easy for your average Ugandan teacher to organise, and would occupy a good deal of time. Content 2, “Characteristics of various types of changes to the environment” is not explained and has no examples. Why is it there? Content 3 “Change of state”, “new things are formed” and placement of things” seem vague and rather pointless. Assessment activity 3, “Describe ways of managing different changes that happen in our environment” is a huge subject in itself, and is not explained. This is why I say that many prescriptions seem to be written without regard to the abilities of the teachers or the children.

Observations about Primary Five, Integrated science, Term III, Theme 5, Managing changes in the environment This type of prescription is common throughout the syllabuses. The obvious danger is, because the subject matter is extensive and difficult, that the teachers will simply write lists of facts on the board, which the children will copy down illegibly in their books, and will fail to comprehend in any way. The consequences of changes do not include death and injury, which are common results of earthquakes, landslides and volcanic action. “Reciting poems”, “role playing” and “writing and singing songs about environmental changes” are far from easy for your average Ugandan teacher to organise, and would occupy a good deal of time. Content 2, “Characteristics of various types of changes to the environment” is not explained and has no examples. Why is it there? Content 3 “Change of state”, “new things are formed” and placement of things” seem vague and rather pointless. Assessment activity 3, “Describe ways of managing different changes that happen in out environment” is a huge subject in itself, and is not explained. That is why I say that “Many prescriptions seem to be written without regard to the abilities of the teachers or the children. “

Write an alternative syllabus for P6 and P7
Some suggestions 1 Write an alternative syllabus for P6 and P7 This syllabus should concentrate on basic literacy and numeracy and practical and life skills. Above all it must be ENJOYABLE and the children must feel that they are succeeding. P6 and P7 could probably be taught together. Schools would need to find an eighth classroom. (In my experience schools have sufficient staff to cover this extra class. Teaching space would be the usual problem.) A certificate should be awarded for successful completion of the course, recognising such qualities as attendance and punctuality, ability to work with others, imagination, service to others and business acumen. Certificates could perhaps be awarded by districts which would allow some flexibility appropriate to the area. Write an alternative syllabus for P6 and P7 This syllabus should concentrate on basic literacy and numeracy and practical and life skills. Above all it must be ENJOYABLE and the children must feel that they are succeeding. P6 and P7 could probably be taught together. Schools would need to find an eighth classroom. (In my experience schools have sufficient staff to cover this extra class. Teaching space would be the usual problem.) A certificate should be awarded for successful completion of the course, recognising such qualities as attendance and punctuality, ability to work with others, imagination, service to others and business acumen. Certificates could perhaps be awarded by districts which would allow some flexibility appropriate to the area.

Some suggestions 2 Issue guidelines to schools, inspectors, CCT’s and PTC’s to be read in conjunction with your syllabuses The guidelines should stress the importance of success in education. If children drop out, that is failure on everyone’s part. Teachers should be encouraged to be flexible about which parts of the syllabus they choose to emphasise. It might be better for the children to cover half the syllabus and understand some of it, than to cover all of it and understand none of it. Not all lessons need to follow the same pattern or be of the same length. Not all lesson plans need to follow the same pattern. Lesson plans should be HONEST. There is too much pressure on teachers to say the right things without doing them. Above all, the children must UNDERSTAND what they are being taught and they should ENJOY being in school. Issue guidelines to schools, inspectors, CCT’s and PTC’s to be read in conjunction with your syllabuses The guidelines should stress the importance of success in education. If children drop out, that is failure on everyone’s part. Teachers should be encouraged to be flexible about which parts of the syllabus they choose to emphasise. It might be better for the children to cover half the syllabus and understand some of it, than to cover all of it and understand none of it. Not all lessons need to follow the same pattern or be of the same length. Not all lesson plans need to follow the same pattern. Lesson plans should be HONEST. There is too much pressure on teachers to say the right things without doing them. Above all, the children must UNDERSTAND what they are being taught and they should ENJOY being in school.

Some suggestions 3 Open a public debate about the examination oriented culture of Ugandan education In Primary Seven most children spend their time revising from the printed commercial tests rather than from their own books. Are past tests the best books they have? The prescriptions in BRMS at the end of each lesson, the learner answers oral and written questions at the end of each topic, the learner answers oral and written questions at the end of each term, the learner does end-of-term examinations need to be questioned. Why do there have to be written questions every lesson? Buying commercially produced tests for P4 and P5 is just condemning the majority of children to failure. NCDC could lead the debate about what sort of school system Uganda wants. Open a public debate about the examination oriented culture of Ugandan education In Primary Seven most children spend their time revising from the printed commercial tests rather than from their own books. Are past tests the best books they have? The prescriptions in BRMS at the end of each lesson, the learner answers oral and written questions at the end of each topic, the learner answers oral and written questions at the end of each term, the learner does end-of-term examinations need to be questioned. Why do there have to be written questions every lesson? Buying commercially produced tests for P4 and P5 is just condemning the majority of children to failure. NCDC could lead the debate about what sort of school system Uganda wants.

Some suggestions 4 Put yourselves in the position of the teachers who have to teach your syllabuses and the children who have to be taught by them. The teachers, in most cases, have only Senior Four education. Few of them have access to books or newspapers, or even television. Hardly any can understand or use the internet. Many have to draw water from boreholes and cook on wood or charcoal. Few will have electric light. Taking work home is not an option. Marking and preparation have to be done in school. Most schools are still rural. Their classes may be huge, and texts books few or non-existent. By the end of Primary Four many children will have acquired only a few words of English. Most children in homes where English is not spoken will struggle to the end of Primary Seven. Put yourselves in the position of the teachers who have to teach your syllabuses and the children who have to be taught by them. The teachers, in most cases, have only Senior Four education. Few of them have access to books or newspapers, or even television. Hardly any can understand or use the internet. Many have to draw water from boreholes and cook on wood or charcoal. Few will have electric light. Taking work home is not an option. Marking and preparation have to be done in school. Most schools are still rural. Their classes may be huge, and texts books few or non-existent. By the end of Primary Four many children will have acquired only a few words of English. Most children in homes where English is not spoken will struggle to the end of Primary Seven.

Publish your syllabuses electronically
Some suggestions 5 Publish your syllabuses electronically There are insufficient printed copies of the syllabuses. On-line publishing should not be expensive if the syllabuses are already held on computers. In the UK all syllabuses are available on-line and for free. Publish your syllabuses electronically There are insufficient printed copies of the syllabuses. On-line publishing should not be expensive if the syllabuses are already held on computers. In the UK all syllabuses are available on-line and for free.

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Primary Education in Uganda

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Primary Education in Uganda

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