The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | 20 year-old Mary Akurut skipped primary two and seven. When she studied primary one, her parents made her skip primary two because she had performed very well. In primary six, she sat for primary leaving examinations and scored 9.
“I sat for the exams as a joke. At the time I was the best in my class and my parents decided to let me try out P.7. They told me if I didn’t pass well, I would be given the chance to study Primary Seven and sit for my exams at the right time.”
Sylvia Muwanga, Akurut’s mother says they were forced to make her skip on teacher’s advice. “Mary had become a problem for her teacher. She was scoring 100 in all her subjects. In class she always finished all her work fast and answered all questions then begun disturbing her classmates.”
Fitting into her new classes was a challenge for Akurut . Muwanga says teachers at the school had to allow her go and play with her agements that were in classes below hers. “In P3, the teachers came up with a policy to let her leave class early since she normally finished her work earlier than other learners to go and play with her agements that she has left in P.2.”
According to experts, bright learners like Akurut are not a new concept in the education sector. However little has been done to help nature them. Class work and lessons in most of the schools are set to meet the needs of the average learners. This leaves out slow and fast learners like Akurut. Exceptionally bright learners end up dropping out of school as a result or are mistaken to be mentally ill.
Dr. Eria Paul Njuki, a Special Needs and Learning Consult also says that the caliber of teachers found in Uganda’s classrooms are not educated enough to be able to handle exceptionally bright children. He says the exceptionally bright children are left to drop of school as a result.
Dr.Njuki adds that at times, bright children are called mad because they find it hard fitting into society because they are bored by what excites people. “When you interact with these children, they are too bright and are at times anti-social which makes people keep away from them.”
According to Dr. David Basangwa, the Executive Director of Butabiika General Hospital says a number of people are taken to the mental hospital only for them to be discovered to be intelligent rather than mentally ill.
“We get cases of people with high intelligence being brought to the hospital. In a year we get like one but this is because such bright people are vulnerable to psychological and physical illnesses like depression and anxiety.”
Dr. Kedrace Turyagenda, the Director of Education Standards says with no policy in place, the responsibility of educating such children lies on the shoulders of teachers. She says that all teachers are trained to be able to handle such learners.
Last month, the education ministry launched a tool to help teachers assess the learning needs of all children inclusive of exceptionally bright ones. Dr. Turyagenda says that the tool will help government address the learning needs of such learners.
“We have not had a policy to specifically handle such learners but with the new tool, this will help us a government plan better for the needs of such learners so that no one is left behind.”
Brighton Barugahare, the assistant commissioner for Policy Analysis at the education ministry says something needs to be done to change the education system and make it more inclusive to cater for all learners.
“Our system does not cater for all learners. Many groups of learners like fast or slow learners or even girls who menstruate monthly are left out. Learners in villages are left out on some aspects of education compared to those in urban settings. Our education is not equal for all learners.”
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