By Godwin Abedican

Arua

The use of local languages to teach in the primary schools especially the lower primary is bearing a brunt on the learning process among the learners in schools under the Arua diocese.

Notable among the subjects is English whose teaching is introduced later in the primary schools especially in primary four which as a result is affecting the level of expression in English among the learners.

In this year’s education week organized by Arua diocesan education department at Arua Technical Institute Ragem, the department incorporated a prefect and leadership training session for the leaders of the learners in the different schools under the diocese.

Edith Desire Muhanguzi, an external facilitator from Kampala who facilitated the leadership training says that such exposures are very vital for the leaders of the learners since it helps to aid their decision-making capacities. “It is really important that they get to know how to lead because the world we are living in, we have leaders and it starts from childhood as we are growing through primary, secondary schools and as someone grows in life.

This helps them to know the line they are going to live along in life, it is like a guideline for those who want to be leaders in the future and also in families and also making them know the roles and responsibilities of a leader. The major gaps I discovered with them is that they need more time to discover themselves. They need time and they need, more sessions so that they can realize that this leadership may not only stop at school. And the question of “will this take me somewhere is answered when we get them time”, Muhanguzi said.  
 
She however notes with concern that many of the student leaders cannot freely express themselves in English, something she attributes to lack of adequate time given for the learners and little attention paid to them and the use of local languages in most parts of the lessons in schools especially at lower levels hence leading to a weak foundation of learning and later affect performance.


Edith Desire Muhanguzi, the external trainer

Meanwhile, Okuonzi Philliam a teacher of English from Ruva primary school in Arua district says, the government takes the blame over such poor outcomes of learning among the learners. “As far as the issue of English teaching is concerned in schools especially in primary schools, you will realize that from primary one to primary three, they are told to use local languages. Now as they use these local languages, they begin to learn English in Primary four, then a child will begin to speak some little English in primary five, which is the area where you select your prefects, primary 4, 5 and 6 and yet they are starting to learn English meaning the English they are going to speak out will be very raw.

This blame first give it to the government. When we were studying we had vernacular as a subject of its own and we learnt our local languages from there but this one where everything has been shifted to thematic, there are challenges where the peri-urban settings children find difficulties in which language to learn, and this therefore makes English to become very hard to handle in primary schools.” He stressed.

Anecho Lennon a senior three student of St. Joseph’s College Ombaci, and a former contestant didn’t go through in the prefectural elections says, the leadership mentorship gives them a lot to learn about their visions, values and missions as a leader. “The major things I have pickled is that as you are in leadership you should have direction and purpose. Being a leader means a lot of responsibilities coming to you.

What I observe from the leaders at school is that, the leaders simply want to be seen as leaders and they tend to struggle with it. You find someone can’t balance with academics and it overweighs them which calls for creating more time for personal studies. We contest as leaders just because we want to people to see us as leaders but taking it as service than boasting would be better for my fellow students,” he said.

Ajio Gloria the former head girl of Aria secondary school in Terego district says, her leadership had a lot of gaps because such capacity buildings were lacking. “Sometimes as leaders, we don’t value ourselves and hence we under perform in our leadership. I can say I never performed well since we did not get such opportunities and what I will take to the current leaders is that they should work according to what they think they have in value as leaders of fellow learners,” Ajio mentioned.   

A total of 37 schools in the diocese were able to send their learners to attend the education week 2023.

COVER PHOTO: The students during the training By Godwin Abedican