The first batch of Mukono Municipality Headteachers’ Association comprising of 354 Primary Seven teachers from 88 schools have undergone a one-day training geared at improvement of the quality of their education skills, and in the long run enhance learner performance for best Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) results.
It was held at Seeta UMEA Primary School in Seeta town in Goma Division on Saturday, and the association chairperson, Susan Wamala Sserunkuuma said that the training is a direct response to concerns raised about some schools’ disappointing performance in the recent released 2024 PLE results.
Mukono Municipality registered 7,476 learners who sat for 2024 PLE exams, with 2,390 candidates passing in division one, 3,964 in Division 2, 630 in Division 3, and 263 in Division 4; 162 were ungraded whereas 67 never turned up for the examinations.
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Wamala, who doubles as the headteacher for Mukono Boarding Primary School said that the initiative is focused on improving teachers’ understanding of the curriculum, effective teaching approaches, and how to better engage the learners.
She said that from the assessment conducted, it was discovered that the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) revised the way of setting the final papers shifting from the traditional system of testing the learner’s brilliance, to how the candidates understood different topics from the syllabus.
The teachers who were drawn from both government and private schools in Goma Division, were divided into four groups based on the subjects they teach including Social Studies, Science, English and Mathematics. Wamala disclosed that a similar training for the Central Division counterparts will be held on Saturday at Bishop’s East Primary School.
Facilitators were drawn from traditionally good performing schools, UNEB examiners and other highly placed education authorities, with a view to create room for dialogue and comparing notes among teachers, to establish the missing links for intensive awareness creation during class work.
“According to the design of this project, we decided to begin with P7 teachers who are looked at as the custodians of good PLE results, with a view to raise grade outcomes, which is the basis for gauging the learner’s performance. Other class teachers will be considered in a due course,” she said.
The association chairperson also noted that the project has the bottom line of getting teachers thoroughly understand what they are going to teach, as the beginning point for helping learners get on writing their examinations from an informed point of view.
“Our basis is that teachers must know that the aims of what they teach stretches beyond high grade acquisition, and rises to thinking about their own job retention well knowing that poor examination performance leads some of them to lose their jobs,” the association head noted.
Moses Kibuuka, one of the facilitators, said they have gone through methods of knowing that the learners have understood what has been taught, and reached consensus that there must be joint efforts for teaching learners with a view to end the gaping differences between private and government school performance.
The chairperson of the Education and Training Committee of the association who is also the headteacher for Nyenje Church of Uganda Primary School, William Mugambwa hailed the project saying, adding that if the encounter is held regularly as planned, the schools will be able to jointly keep abreast with any new development in the teaching of the national children.
Buwava Primary School headteacher, Maria Gorretti Naigaga said that her school is going to prioritize a multiplier effect programme to benefit even teachers in lower classes because they are the ones who set the foundation of the candidates.
Kireka Development School teacher for Mathematics, Peter Mukonge earlier underscored the necessity to trickle down the knowledge acquired through a multiplier effect type of sharing with colleagues who did not attend.
In her comment, the teacher for Mother Kevin Primary School, Rosemary Nakuya observed that this training has been a major missing component for better grades, especially given that it trains the teachers to emphasize a hands-on manner.
“Teaching without physical application limits the learners’ chances of making critical thinking,” Nakuya added.
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