Education is very important and more needs to be done to have Quality education

The Sustainable Development goals follow the Millennium Development Goals. They have been developed and determined by the UN member states & were launched in November 2015 and are set to be reached by 2030.  One of the goals is quality education. 

Torodev focuses on ICT for improved education as one of the core areas. Education sector is one of the areas that need much attention here in Uganda especially in government schools since they face different challenges, like poor infrastructure, lack of libraries, shortage of trained teachers, high number of pupils , lack of pit latrines etc that leads to poor performance.

Pupils at school

On 6th February 2016 the district education officer of Kabarole, Mr. Rwakaikara Patrick, Ms Mpairwe Night Karungi the head teacher of Kyebambe girls school and Rev. Richardson Balinda the deputy head teacher of Kyebambe girl’s school appeared live on the ToroDev sponsored radio talk show ‘Orukurato’that is aired live every Saturday 8:00pm-10:00pm to talk about the relevancy of education in Uganda and what can be done to improve performance.

The panelists of the talksshow tried to analyze and compare the performance at PLE level in the district where they showed a reduction of first grades from 12000 pupils passing in first grade in 2014 to 738 in 2015. A total number of 4331 pupils in 2015 passed in second grade, 800 in third grade, 300 in fourth grade & 200 failed.

 “Sometimes students do not get focused and develop negative attitude towards some subjects like sciences. Parents role is still missing citing an example of parents who do not pay fees for their children in time, not bothered to visit them at school & also talking to them on the effects of early relationships while still schooling”. Said Ms Mpairwe Night Karungi, the head teacher of Kyebambe girls during the radio talkshow

Girls need to be talked to at school and at home by their parents

“Parents need to support teachers because sometimes students’ performance is affected by domestic violence in our homes. I advise all  stakeholders in education to emphasize on carrier guidance for students, support lifelong learning skills, have mind set change for both teachers & students, initiate self-customized school appraisal forms for teachers and encourage the schools to have the vision, mission & objectives for those without for the school to have direction”. Rev. Richardson Balinda the deputy head teacher of Kyebambe girl’s school.

“I urge all partners in education sector to work together in addressing the challenges affecting education in the district & region as a whole that include; administration where there should be transparency by teachers, monitoring, coordination, syllabus coverage, enforcing discipline, research & planning and also considering the quality of students admitted in schools, if these challenges are not addressed, the outcome may not be impressive at all”, said Mr. Rwakaikara, the DEO Kabarole District.

“What is your dream, your aim in life? Do you want to become rich?  Do you want to be popular? Do you want to be an extremely successful person who is respected by people? Well, the key to all this is education. Of course there are exceptions, like sportsmen who don’t really owe their success to their education. However in most cases, your degree is what helps you realize all your dreams.  Said Rev. Richardson Balinda the deputy head teacher of Kyebambe girl’s school during the radio talkshow on Hits Fm.

Richardson added education majorly affects our understanding of the difference between right and wrong. An educated person is well aware of the consequences of wrong/illegal actions and he is less likely to get influenced and do something which is not legally/morally right. Also, a  number of uneducated people who live a poverty stricken life owning to lack of opportunities often turn to illegal ways such as theft and robbery to solve their problems. If you are educated, you are well aware of your rights, the law and your responsibilities towards the society. Hence, education is an important factor which contributes in social harmony and peace.

“Improved education contributes to a happy and stable life. “If you want to lead a happy life and enjoy the good things the world has to offer, you certainly need to get educated. A great job, a good social reputation are few of the many benefits of being an educated person. Education is a must for a promising and secure future and a stable life”. Said Mr. Rwakaikara Patrick the district education officer Kabarole district during the radio talkshow on Hits Fm

Patrick added an educated person has more chances of landing up a good high paying job. Everybody wants a good life but the good life! It may be called as the “root of all evil” but most people will agree that money is important for survival in today’s world. The more educated you are, the better career options you have!

“If we want to see the world as a just and fair place where everyone is given equal opportunities, education is what we require. Education is a must if we want to do away with the existing differences between different social classes and genders.  It opens a whole world of opportunities for the poor so that they may have an equal shot at well-paying jobs. Education also plays a major role in women empowerment”. Said Ms Mpairwe Night Karungi, the headtaecher of Kyebambe girls school

Ms Night added education is very important if you want to be a self-dependent person. It helps you become financially independent but that is not all.  Education also makes you wiser so that you can make your own decision so more need to be done to achieve this.

The two hours talkshows ended with a note of thanks from DEO Kabarole District thanking ToroDev for the support and contribution towards improving education in Western Uganda.

To all our partners and funders NED, SIDA, SPIDER, DRT, WOUGNET, ICT4Dem and HITS Fm  thank you so much for supporting ToroDev activities.