Amolatar District Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Rodha Oromo, has highlighted negative attitudes among key education stakeholders, teacher and pupil absenteeism, incomplete syllabi and inadequate infrastructure as some of the major challenges affecting learning in the district.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, Oromo said negative attitudes towards education among some head teachers, teachers, parents and local leaders continue to undermine the quality of education in government schools.
She said some parents and local leaders are not sufficiently concerned when children remain at home during school days, contributing to pupil absenteeism and affecting their academic performance.
Oromo also raised concern over inadequate lesson preparation by some teachers, saying it affects the quality and effectiveness of teaching.
She cited incidents where some teachers go to class without lesson plans and schemes of work.
Oromo said such teachers are doing a disservice to learners because inadequate preparation affects the quality of lessons delivered to pupils.
She further accused some head teachers of conniving with teachers who abscond from duty, a practice she said negatively affects pupils’ learning.
According to Oromo, failure to complete the syllabus on time is another major factor contributing to poor academic performances.
She said pupils who reach Primary Seven without completing the required syllabus are often inadequately prepared for the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), resulting in poor performance.
She also acknowledged infrastructure challenges in some schools, including inadequate classrooms, sanitation facilities, desks and instructional materials, which she said create an unfavourable learning environment.
To address the challenges, Oromo called on parents, teachers, head teaches, local leaders and other stakeholders to tackle pupil and teacher absenteeism, ensure timely completion of the syllabus and improve lesson preparation.
She directed head teachers to maintain daily records on teacher attendance and pupil enrolment and submit the data to the District Education Officer’s office for analysis and planning.
At the district level, Oromo said the authorities are lobbying Iceland-funded partners to support the improvement of learning infrastructure and strengthen teachers’ capacity in order to improve teaching outcomes and learners’ academic performance.
Amolatar District has 53 government schools. Last year’s PLE results showed that out of 2,505 candidates who sat the examinations, only 58 passed in Division One.
A total of 810 candidates passed in Division Two, 342 in Division Three, 608 in Division Four, while 361 were graded in Division U. Another 27 candidates did not sit the examinations.
