Lira City, August 21, 2024 – Headteachers in Lango Subregion under the umbrella of Association of Secondary School Head Teachers of Uganda [ASSHU] have appealed to government to connect their schools to the internet, saying it would promote research, and ease the teaching of the new curriculum for lower secondary education.
This was echoed during ASSHU’s annual general meeting [AGM] held in Lira City under the theme, Embracing Technology in Assessment Management of the Lower Secondary Curriculum in Uganda Education System.
Among others, delegates to the AGM identified lack of the internet in the schools as a major challenge affecting the teaching of the lower secondary school curriculum, although the challenge of inadequate computer labs was also mentioned.
Sammy Bob Okino, the Lango ASSHU Regional Chairperson who doubles as the headmaster of Lango College [government aided school] said schools in the region have been struggling to access internet to enable both the learners and teachers to do academic research.
Okino said that the provision of the internet connectivity should be at a subsidized price to the schools.
“We have been talking about embracing technology, and our schools have been trying to connect to internet but the cost is high. It is our humble request that the government provides internet to the schools at a subsidised rate so that students and teachers can really do research. If it would be taken as a priority, this would be part of the grants given to the schools and we shall appreciate,” said Okino.
On the other hand, Morris Okunu, the headteacher of Father Aloysius Secondary School in Kole district said their computer laboratory does not operate throughout the week because of limited data. Okunu said this affects students’ performance since the new lower secondary school curriculum requires more research work.
“This affects our learners in O’ level as they limited time in the computer laboratories, which hinders them from in-depth research,” Okunu said, adding that students only access the labs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Meanwhile, Dr Jasper Abura, the Lira City Education Officer the issue of internet connectivity is catered for under the government policy of Universal Secondary Education [USE].
Under USE, government pays school fees, buys textbooks and other instructional materials for both students, and teachers, meets the cost of co-curricular activities, school administration, and maintenance.
Lango Subregion has a total of 75 government aided secondary schools while 69 private secondary schools have been established in the region.
https://thecooperator.news/uganda-readies-to-host-11th-east-africa-internet-governance-forum/
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