a what? a classroom in uganda.

Education in Uganda is seen as one of the most important things in life.
Education means a job (hopefully).
A job means money.
Money means food and a home.

My home stay Mum said that her number one priority is giving her children a good education. She chose education over electricity.

A little about the education system in Uganda:

Primary School is essentially elementary school in the US. The levels are P1-P7. Secondary School is a mix of junior high and high school. The levels are P1-P6. It gets complicated here because P1-P4 is “O” level and P5-P6 is “A” level. The distinction, from what I have gathered, is that “A” level gets to specify in their best subjects, as opposed to general classes. And this does not mean a choice of what to study, but a placement into subjects based on exam scores. University is typically three years, for most “courses” (except law and medicine). Again, they do not get to choose their course; the school looks at their exams and offers them to come for that course alone. Exams, therefore, are extremely important. Imagine the amount of stress put on these KIDS, for they are essentially pining for their future everyday starting in primary school!!!

Oh yah, students get to go to school when they have money, not the age. The P2 class I observed ranged from seven to fourteen year olds (avg. was 9 years).

School fees and uniforms are common. Public schooling is not preferred, so most schools are “religious” private school. School fees are one of the biggest headaches of families. I was at my home stay on the first day of school and along with fees, they also had to supply notebooks, pencils, a broom, and toilet paper: these alone were a struggle for my family. Today I was blown away with what school fees actually are: 10,000 Ush per term (three terms per level). That’s about $5.72! On top of school fees, are uniform charges (which are about 10,000Ush) and if you want lunch that’s another 10,000Ush and if you want break porridge that’s another 5,000Ush, and if you want tutoring after school that’s an additional 10,000Ush. If you got all of these if would equal 45,000Ush… a grand total of $25.72 per term. That number multiplied by three every year AND by each child in the family can be very difficult to come by. That blows my mind because I think of what trivial purchases I make with that amount and yet it could easily help a child be educated and thus his future.

Another thing that blows my mind is that students leave at an average of 7 am and get home on average between 4-6 pm (except P1-P2 who may leave at 1pm). Plus walking. Then chores and cooking and revisions at home. The life of a student! Anyone who says Africa is lazy should be punched.

I visited my sister Phionah’s P2 classroom today at Bishop Central Primary School. They are identified by their bright pink uniforms (the “pink school” as opposed to the aqua or purple school).  There were 2 teachers, Cathy and Ronah for a classroom of 80 students!! The classroom was still about the size of a classroom in the US, but instead of desks were rows of benches and tables. And kids crowded in! (I have heard of much worse ratios, especially in rural school where as many as 1-200 students in one class!!)

When I walked in they all rose and welcomed me to P2 in unison. Learning is basically memorization and repetition and lists: very low on Bloom’s Taxonomy. There is no “Why?” question asked or critical thinking, just straightforward copying and memorization of the answers. But that is not necessarily the teacher or students fault:: there are NO resources. There was only one book, for the teacher, in the whole classroom. A chalkboard. And a small notebook (and pencil) for each subject, for each students. It makes sense why they are forced to memorize and repeat everything, yah?!

I should have known better to go into a class and not be asked to teach… so I wasn’t surprised too much when they asked what I wanted to teach! I did a warm-up song (from VBS) and gave a short English lesson of six words. I was nervous and laughing before I started, but I felt really comfortable and at home teaching. It was FUN! 

Similar to schools in the US, to keep them alert they did an activity of jumping and clapping and yelling and dancing (adorable) in between subjects.

Cathy, a new teacher, told me that she guesses that 20+ students will not be promoted to P3, or even demoted to P1. How heartbreaking: so much money wasted. BUT I wonder if it is because the education system is not appropriate for all students. Special education, other than physical handicaps, doesn’t exist. (You can get one-on-one lessons after school, but when money for uniforms is already a problem, so are tutors!) One boy was claimed to be essentially bad or lazy and not a hard worker because he never completes his assignments on time. He was hit with the stick… broke my heart! Teachers are not lovey-dovey. Students seem to fear them, or at least them with the stick in their hand. (I think the stick is a culture/classroom management thing, not a hatred beating tool… I hope.)

The social studies exercise was listing “needs of people in school,” of which the first five responses were: food, toilets, water, uniforms, shoes… then came classes, teachers, books. I will let this speak on its own.

I hope to go back to visit soon. The teachers (and students!) were kind and happy to have me visit. 