Evelyn Lirri
27 August 2007
Kampala — Female intake into primary teachers colleges should be increased because pupils taught by female teachers have been found to perform better than those taught by their male counterparts, a report has recommended.
It says female teachers tend to be friendlier and close to their pupils. The report by the National Assessment of Progress in Education (NAPE), under the Uganda National Examination Board, is produced annually and aims at determining the level of learners among primary three and six pupils with the aim of monitoring the progress of the education sector.
"Eighty five per cent of the schools selected had male head teachers while only 15 per cent had female head teachers. However, pupils whose head teachers were females performed at a higher level than those with male head teachers," the report says. It recommends the appointment of more female teachers to head primary schools and ensure regular in-service courses for them.
The report was released to educationists at a meeting in Kampala on Friday.
Choice of classes
The Principal Examination officer of NAPE, Ms Sylvia Acana, said the research, carried out in 405 primary schools across the country, targeted the two classes because it is at these stages that pupils are leaving the infant classes and integrating into the final year of effective teaching before they sit for their final national examinations.
The pupils were assessed in areas of numeracy and literacy. "The concentration was on numeracy and literacy because these are key subject areas. If you cannot read and write, then you cannot learn ," Ms Acana said.
Uneb Executive Secretary Mathew Bukenya said such annual assessments would help improve the quality of teaching and ultimately, the performance of pupils.
"If you don't improve quality, you can never do much. We will involve parents, teachers and the community in promoting the quality of education," Mr Bukenya said.
Gender parity
A senior examinations officer at NAPE, Mr Dan Kyagaba, said policies aimed at achieving gender parity among pupils should be put in place to address the existing gaps.
According to the report, the HIV/Aids pandemic and market days have had a negative effect on school attendance and participation among teachers and pupils.
"Approximately three school days are lost each term in many schools, particularly in the rural areas because both pupils and teachers go off to markets," it says.
The report also recommends that local authorities should enact and enforce by-laws that will make parents responsible for ensuring that their children attend school regularly.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
