I attended a workshop for teacher development on teaching in English. The man leading the workshop would continually look to me after making a statement and wait for my affirmative nod that what he spoke was truth. A few times I had to correct him like when he told the teachers “mophology,” was the study of words instead of, “morphology.” I chalk that one up to the language barrier and Ugandan’s having a very difficult time saying their “r’s.” As the workshop continued on the man confused prefixes with suffixes, spelled a total of 10 words correct, misused his tenses repeatedly, and many other English mistakes. All while leading a workshop of teaching English.
Many PCV’s complain about the Ugandan education system and it really is a travesty. The ministry has good intentions and their curriculum could be effective. However, there are several factors that limit the effectiveness of the education system. One problem being the classes are too large. This seems to be a world-wide complaint but in Uganda, where many classes are 100 plus students, it is a real problem. Another problem is that teachers colleges tend to be where students go who do not make it to University because of their academics. This means the country is being educated by many teachers who do not want to teach, they just didn’t have any other option, and also by teacher’s who do not have the academic aptitude in the first place.
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