KAMPALA – Pupils in Katakwi District have assailed the Ministry of Education and Sports for rolling out a computer-backed primary curriculum without laying the groundwork.
The children were speaking at the celebrations to mark the Day of the African Child hosted by Action Aid in partnership with Katakwi District Local Government.
The celebrations held at Omorongora Primary School in Palam Sub County ran under the theme: “Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Children in the Digital Environment”.
“I blame the Ministry of Education who put in the primary curriculum the use of computers and smartphones but they have not provided them,” Juliet Kiyai, a pupil from Toroma Girls Primary School said: “Today when you talk about computers and smartphones, you have touched the heart of the person.”
Kiyai said that they know computers are being given to secondary and tertiary levels, – “leaving the foundation and that’s primary level”.
“Can a house stand without a foundation, she wondered – citing the two-year brutal learning experience the rural learners went through over the disruption in education caused by Covid-19.
“Children in the urban areas continued to learn online but of us in rural areas, we were given home study learning materials and listening to radio. Why not bring computers and we also touch it. Just touching, she said. “When I see and touch, I will understand and learn,” she added, calling on fellow pupils to raise up and defend their rights to education.
The government is pushing the technology and science agenda for the development of the country.
The Ministry of Education decided to introduce new subjects in a new curriculum as part of the reforms for lower primary education.
In 2017, the Ministry of Education rolled out a thematic curriculum for Primary One and Two after the literacy level among learners had dropped. Six years down the road, the ministry plans to review the entire curriculum for the primary level.
Esther Atai Amulen, a senior three student from Palam Seed Secondary School said their laboratory is fully equipped with computers but the school isn’t connected to the national power grid – forcing learners who were initially interested in ICT-related fields to drop the ideas.
“We have computers and they are available for every learner but power is a problem. So, they are just covered inside the computer lab. We don’t know how to press the start button but we have then since the school was opened,” Atai said.
She added: “I’m in senior three but I have been forced to drop ICT because I don’t know anything about the practical part.”
Andrew Martin Okello, a teacher at Kokorio Primary School cited non-preparedness stemming from the training of teachers, no sensitization, and consultations.
“It is impossible to teach what you don’t know,” Mr. Okello said.
Sarah Agiro, a psychosocial support officer with Action Aid said the Day of the African Child helped to shine a light on the importance of ICT in promoting education and research.
“In some schools, children haven’t seen anything called a computer. They don’t know what is called a smartphone and these are very important for the new curriculum where everything is practical”, Ms. Agiro said.
Agiro said that Action Aid has also helped sensitize teachers on children’s rights and some of the vices that come with ICTs.
She also said some teachers are completely negative about ICT. “The attitude towards ICT is very low for some of the teachers but the learners are very willing to touch and learn computers.”
She urged Katakwi District Local Government to work with the Ministry of Energy to ensure that schools are connected to the national power system.
Mr. Geoffrey Omolo, the LC 5 Katakwi District Local Government said the government wasn’t ready for the new primary curriculum rollout. He also confirmed that Seed Schools whose computer labs are well-equipped, don’t have power.
“Unfortunately, I think the government was not prepared. I talk about government now beginning from the center up to the grassroots because much as this direction we should be taken but the level of preparedness to have these gadgets in these schools isn’t seen,” Mr. Omolo said.
He added: “Leave alone just the gadget but even the basics as books, as we talk now, they are not enough because then this curriculum is putting a child into researching doing it himself. And now when you have only five books, maybe handling over 100 Children How do you think children can be able to utilize that we have raised this as a local government but also the education sector has pushed it. So I feel government still has a lot to first handle. But the level of preparedness into this has not been so adequate.”
Major (Rtd) Godfrey Katamba, the RDC for Katakwi, said there is an ongoing government programme to distribute computers to all schools.
“The government through the Ministry of ICT has a plan to equip every school with computers. We know that the new curriculum emphasizes ICT schools and therefore the computers are going to be made available in schools by the government,” Maj Katamba said.
On the power connectivity, he said the Ministry of Energy and mineral development has mapped out the whole district and that it is going to be electrified beginning August 2023.
“I think that problem also has months to be solved,” Mr. Katamba said.
