Teachers, parents forcing learners to attend holiday classes – MOE

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The failure for parents and teachers to adhere to education policies has been cited by educationists as the main reason why children are being sent to school during holidays.

According to educationists, children today are not being given enough time to develop and enjoy their childhood because parents want them to study during holidays and teachers are more than willing to offer the service at a cost.

They argue that learning should take place during the school term and the children left to rest during holidays.

Dr. Tony Mukasa Lusambu, the commissioner of Basic Education Ministry of education  says that schools that run holiday lessons are stopping learners from getting an all-round education. He says holiday time is supposed to be used to teach learners things like house chores that are often ignored at school.

According to the 2019 school calendar released by the education ministry, learners this year were scheduled to spend a total of 253 days at school during school terms and 104 days at home for holidays.

Early this week, the Education ministry released a statement asking schools to obey to the school calendar by closing for holidays. This Is not the first time the ministry has asked schools not to carry out coaching during school holidays.

Alex Kakooza, the permanent secretary, ministry of education says they have not been able to stop the vice because their hands are tied. He says the ministry has failed to stop the practice because parents and teachers are colluding to make sure that the practice continues.

According to Kakooza, it is the responsibility of the inspection department of the ministry to make sure that schools are closed during holidays and no classes are taking place. However, they fail because of new methods deployed by teachers and parents.

Juliette Nambi Namuddu, the Director of Education and Social Services at Kampala Capital City Authority says that they have tried to stop the vice but it is not easy. KCCA has a task force in every division that is tasked with closing schools that are found teaching during holidays and weekends but this system has not delivered expected results.

“We have teams on the ground but schools and parents have become very smart. Schools no longer carry out coaching at schools. They go to teacher’s houses and teach learners from there. Some parents even take teachers to their homes to coach learners. How can you know what is happening in a parent’s home?”

Ismael Mulindwa, the Commissioner in charge of Private Schools says it is hard to apprehend learners because they do not put on school uniform when they are going to school.

“Last week we tried to follow people we suspected of being learners but it was hard. They were putting on ordinary clothes. We could not identify what schools they belonged to. And when we visited some schools, we found them closed but were told learners are learning from a neighboring compound.”

Schools found to be carrying out holiday classes can have their licenses revoked by the education ministry. However, a trip taken by URN through Kampala revealed that some schools were open and teaching. Learners could be seen in Kamwokya and in Kololo with back packs. They were however not easy to identify since most of them were wearing ordinary clothes.

Other schools around Kampala give learners weekly tests in addition to holiday packages. The tests are supposed to be taken back to the school on a weekly basis for marking throughout the entirely holiday duration.

Edward Kanoonya, the head teacher of Kololo Secondary School says that sometimes schools in Kampala are forced to teach during holidays and weekends to be able to complete the syllabus early.

“Our counterparts in boarding schools are able to complete the syllabus early because they study from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm. People in day schools do not have that opportunity and as such need to find a way to make sure the syllabus is completed.”

Grace Baguma, the director of the National Curriculum Development Center says schools curriculums are designed for every level according to the set school calendar. She says schools are given enough time to complete the syllabus and should stop using it as an excuse to carry out holiday classes.

“We calculated for every syllabus let it be primary or secondary should be completed just before examinations. The practice of schools completing syllabuses in first or second term in wrong.  Schools are wasting time with so many tests. Schools have beginning of term, midterm and end of term. Instead of teaching, they are testing and then they want to have holiday classes.”

URN spoke to some of the learners who attend the classes. While some of them did not like coaching, others did not mind the practice saying it helps them revise.

Michelle Mbabazia, a senior four student at Mt St. Marys College Namagunga says that she never enjoys her holiday because of the holiday classes.

“Apart from eating nice food at home, I prefer being at school because during holidays, we spend all our time learning. In the morning I go for coaching at Makerere and when I go back home, another teacher comes to help me with physics and math. On top of that I have to read during morning and evening prep.”

Charles Otto, a senior three student says that he enjoys the classes because they help him revise his books. “Reading during the holiday is one of the hardest things I can do. But when I attend classes, I open my books because we are given home work. That helps me. At times we study things that our teachers have not yet taught and that helps me be ahead of the class.”

Juliet Nakabugo, a parent to primary six pupil in a boarding school says that parents need to stand firm and refuse holiday coaching.

“Can you believe the teacher told my child that they would fail if they did not attend holiday classes. They wanted them to rest for one week this holiday and go back to school early. I refused. This was too much. If parents do not stand up to schools, our children will stop getting holidays.”

A 2013 study carried by Mollie Galloway and published in the Journal of Experimental Education shows that overloading learners with too much work can lead to academic stress and can affect the mental and physical health of a learner, which hinders learning.

Patrick Kaboyo, the national secretary, Federation of Non-State Education Institutions says learners need light holiday assignments instead of coaching or holiday packages to keep them involved in learning.

Kaboyo suggests that teachers and schools should keep learners busy with small educational projects that involve their surrounding instead of resorting to coaching.

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URN