For almost three weeks, a group of Cypriot teachers, our Director Effie Gavriel among them, combined tourism with voluntary work at schools in Uganda.
Uganda has seven years of primary education. According to the Ministry of Education and Sports statistics, school enrollments increased from 3 million to 5.3 million in 1997 and the number rapidly increased to 7 million by 2004. Even though the increased number of pupils was perceived as a good thing, there were only 125,883 teachers, breaking the UPE required pupil-teacher ratio of 1:40. The large number of pupils makes the learning environment more difficult and it becomes harder for the teacher to be heard and teach. (info taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Uganda)
In our opinion, apart from the limited resources, the main challenge of the Ugandan education system is that from the very first stages of Primary Education, pupils need to take centralized exams in order to complete a year. Hence, memorizing wins over critical and creative thinking enhancement, shifting the focus away from the pupils’ individual needs and skills development.
We visited four schools, among which Saint Antonios of Monde and Young Comrades School. We taught classes, we trained teachers, we played with pupils but most of all we learned a lot from teachers and children.
We are thankful to the schools’ Heads and staff for their warm hospitality and motivation to learn new teaching methods and techniques.
We were amazed by the positive spirit, bright minds and creativity of pupils who performed well beyond any expectation, albeit the limited resources and exposure in alternative teaching methods.
We appreciated the effort of teachers who struggle daily to keep their pupils in the path of education, despite the difficulties.
We admired the positive energy and patience of teachers and pupils, qualities which are well embedded in the Ugandan culture.
We feel grateful for an unforgettable experience, through which we have gained much more than what we have been able to contribute.
We value Father Antonios Mutyaba’s struggle to provide food and education to 1500 children in five schools.
We look forward to sharing what we have learned with our students and teachers this school year.
Find out more about Father Antonios’ work and how to contribute here.
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