Extended Learning beyond Physical Schools in Rural Contexts in Uganda; a Case of Kyotera District
Abstract
The period of Covid -19 pandemic unlocked many lessons and opened up the need to benchmark various interventions in the social setup, more so, the means to manage social services like education. Education is a right enshrined in article 26 (1) of the 1948 United Nations Human rights Declaration, and the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995), particularly articles 30, 34(2) and objective XVIII. Uganda’s Vision 2040 asserts that, the education curriculum, examination and instruction methods should always be revised to suit the proposed changes in the education system as well as being responsive to the global demands. The COVID-19 lockdown which took almost two years, introduced non-formal learning through use of internet, radios and televisions but these did not favor rural settings. In Uganda, 55.2 percent of households have radios, 7.2 percent own televisions while 19 percent can access internet with ease. Basing on participatory action design laid on the social learning framework the assumption is that data becomes information only when filtered through a theory of reality that common data is set on the policy environment, yielding diverse political strategies and holding distinct practical programs for implementation if interpreted through different value filters. This intriguing reality led us to visit 25 out of 30 Local Council (LC) one (1) Chairpersons in Kyotera and Kasaali Town Councils and found that each received one copy of learning materials which could be accessed through photocopying yet 10 percent of the beneficiaries could comply. To address the challenge and using these materials, we organized a total of 168 audio lessons for primary one to six; and senior one to three classes which we recorded and saved on memory sticks. We drew a timetable of three hours a day throughout a week and louder speakers were mounted in 11 most rural villages in Kyotera District to deliver lessons. Through interviews conducted on visit of at least one home from a village and from political leaders, testimonies showed that learning took place. Head teachers interviewed [4] also confirmed the same We concluded that through recorded audio lessons, content can well be delivered at any time. We recommend that; Governments, institutions, teachers and other facilitators, should adopt the model to extend learning to beyond classrooms with audio lessons for future use in learning and revisions. This can be through transmission of lessons on simple memory sticks and discs. Stakeholders at all levels of education should be encouraged to appreciate existence of pre- developed lessons and lectures which Amy not require internet connection by teachers -Government Organizations should use the model and fund extension of learning in rural villages in order to affirmatively have all learners supplement on learning obtained from classrooms
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Copyright (c) 2024 Tom Darlington Balojja, PhD, Dorothy Sebbowa, PhD

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