With the prevailing lockdown on all educational institutions, the government, together with the Ministry of Education and Sports, in collaboration with other agencies have been rooting for the adoption of e-learning to help students catch up with their studies.
As such, junior learners in Luwero District are now beneficiaries of an e-learning initiative commissioned at Nalongo Primary School, where learning equipment like tablets were given out.
The initiative, under the program ‘I can’t wait to learn Uganda’, is Holland based and focuses on closing the education gap through technology. The program is active in six countries; Sudan, Uganda, Lebanon, Jordan, Chad and Bangladesh, and once its testing bears wholesome results, the Education Ministry hopes to take it on for other communities around the country.
“This initiative is in line with the covid-19 pandemic Standard Operating Procedures. However, it is being tested. Once it works effectively, we want to collaborate with various partners and the government so that it is promoted,” Alex Kakooza, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Sports explained.
Grace Kirya, a teacher, said that in order to entice students into learning, the curriculum excerpts were put in video form.
“The curriculum of literacy has been developed into games which have been uploaded on computer tablets. As children play these games, they gain competencies that are defined in the national curriculum, in maths and English.
Marble Tuhirirwe, the head teacher of Nalongo Primary School, said that students will be able to learn while enjoying the process.
The project manager, Mr Parwez Anis, noted that in order to institute the project countrywide to different schools, the government has to take part.
“We are looking forward to collaborating with the Ministry of Education and Sports to take it forward to different corners of the country,” he said.
