Deal with root causes of teacher absenteeism
What you need to know:
The issue:
Absenteeism
Our view:
Understanding the root causes of absenteeism and finding realistic solutions is the way forward. And because most of the causes are intertwined, the solutions cannot be applied independently if any tangible results are to be attained.
The Ministry of Education has revealed that absenteeism has persisted in public schools across the country despite the installation of the automated system to curb the vice. This was during a training on how the e-inspection system can be enhanced.
The e-inspection system known as the integrated inspection system, was first piloted in 1,000 government schools spread in 46 districts across the country in 2016 for effective monitoring and inspection.
Ms Jane Frances Atima, the acting director of Education Standards in the ministry said absenteeism is a big bottleneck to learning and it hinders children from attaining all expected competencies by the time they sit for Primary Leaving Examinations and that’s why there are still big numbers of ungraded candidates in national exams.
Doreen Ankunda Tumwebaze, commissioner of basic education at the Ministry of Education revealed that some school administrators and teachers have deliberately disconnected the e-inspection machines.
While the e-inspection system might be good, addressing absenteeism will take much more. The solutions lies in addressing the root causes and poor inspection is only one of them.
Unicef in their 2020 report titled, “Time to Teach- Teacher attendance and time on task in primary schools Uganda” cites a number of root causes.
“Poor provision of teachers’ basic needs lowers motivation and makes it difficult for teachers to attend schools regularly, to use instructional time effectively, to attend to their pupils — even though they might be present in the school — and heightens their sense of isolation from the ministry’s educational initiatives. ¬ Sub-optimal working environments increase teachers’ workload and stress levels, causing them to be away from their classrooms and to compromise the amount of time they can dedicate to instructional activities”, it reads in part.
Understanding the root causes of absenteeism and finding realistic solutions is the way forward. And because most of the causes are intertwined, the solutions cannot be applied independently if any tangible results are to be attained.
