Africa-Press – Uganda. Schools whose learners use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) gadgets have welcomed the news that the government is working on a policy on the same.
Junior Higher Education minister, John Chrysostom Muyingo this past week revealed that the process is a work in progress.
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He added that while ICT gadgets like phones can be used as tools to facilitate learning in and outside the classroom, “the government is also mindful of the fact that phones can be a distractor in the learning environment…”
Dr Muyingo’s non-committal tone has been greeted with mixed reactions.
Ms Zulaika Nabukeera, the head teacher of Nabisunsa Girls Secondary School, proffered that “phones are a distractor if the students are not given proper instructions.”
Learners at her school have been using tablets since 2018 when the National Curriculum Development Centre rolled out a new curriculum for lower secondary.
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Mr Lawrence Kaddu Kasibante, the head teacher of Nakasero Senior School, said the new curriculum essentially made “a phone a necessary evil.”
He added that the education sector needs “this policy as early as yesterday.”
Yet at Bombo Army Senior Secondary School, head teacher Alice Birungi Baruga said they aborted the programme after a short dry run. Ms Baruga revealed that they discovered that “the [Advanced Level] students are not yet ready.”
She added: “The teacher would be on the board teaching while the students are on their phones watching unrelated videos.”
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On his part, Mr Kasibante—whose school has been allowing learners to use phones since 2020— said they have not had any significant challenges in learners using the gadgets. He admitted that it needed “a mindset change” to show teachers and parents the merits of leveraging ICT tools.
Ms Nabukeera said ICT tools make “learning become more interesting to the learners” thanks to their interactive and audio features.
She nevertheless conceded that they have a downside, with “some learners think[ing] gadgets are for playing music.”
“We don’t allow the learners to stay with the gadgets. They are manned by the IT team. [Learners] are given a time table when to use and return them. During that time, they are monitored,” Ms Nabukeera said.
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At Nakasero Senior School, the learners bring the phones on Mondays and Fridays. Mr Kasibante revealed that the learners are subjected to a “thorough check” at the school’s entrances on the other days.
Besides strict guidelines around supervision, the head teachers advised the government to look into the issues of cost of Internet and the gadgets.
“They can be made cheaper and affordable,” Ms Nabukeera said, adding, “We don’t want to create classes of those who can afford and those who can’t. There is also a need to subsidise data. We saw Makerere University students complain about online [learning] because they couldn’t afford the data.”
Issue.
“We don’t want to create classes of those who can afford and those who can’t. There is also a need to subsidise data,” Ms Zulaika Nabukeera, the head teacher of Nabisunsa Girls Secondary School
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