Michael J Ssali
22 November 2006
The retired headmaster of Masaka Secondary School, Haji Ali Ssendagire, has called upon science teachers in Africa to adopt local languages as a medium of instruction for science subjects.
Speaking during a parents day at Kabukunge Primary Teachers College in Masaka District on Saturday, he said he had turned to writing books "to fill the missing link" between the African child and the study of science.
Ssendagire, who qualified as a science teacher at Makerere University about 40 years ago, said he intends to write his books in Luganda because according to him, the English language in which Science is taught has proved a major barrier to understanding it.
He retired as headmaster in November 2005. He used to teach Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and Biology. Ssendagire observed that most countries that have made important developments in science chose to use their mother tongues to teach the subject.
He mentioned China, Japan and a number of Arab countries. "The Frenchman does not have to wait to learn English to study Medicine, but the Uganda student is compelled to begin by leaning a foreign language to pursue a similar course. So many of our intelligent youth have missed out merely for not being able to master the foreign languages," Ssendagire said.
He asked parents to encourage their children to take their science studies seriously because the world has gone digital and almost everything hinges on science. "Science can prolong life but it can, on the other hand, shorten it," Ssendagire said.
"When we fall sick, we can be examined and treated scientifically. But by inventing disastrous weapons such as bombs and guns, man has used science to shorten lives of not only mankind but also that of animals and plants."
Ssendagire also reminded parents of the swiftness with which modern communication takes place, saying you can easily communicate with someone overseas because of Science.
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