Beating Absenteeism: West Nile Schools Struggle With TELA System

By Gule Adam

Schools in West Nile sub-region are finding difficulties in the implementation of the digital monitoring and supervision system.

Some school administrators told Arua One FM that they are failing to enroll in the government tracking system dubbed ‘Teacher Effectiveness and Learner Achievement’ (TELA).

TELA was launched by the education ministry at the beginning of the 2023 academic year to facilitate effective monitoring of teachers through attendance and adherence to the timetable.

‘I am stuck’

Safi Noah Atiku, the head teacher of Kenyanga Primary School in Lodonga sub-county, said the machine rejects passwords given to them during the training.

“In Kenyanga, I started registering the teachers,” he said.

“Then with the first pin number which I was given in the training, I tried to use it, completely it went off. Then after that, everything was down.

“Even the telephone number they gave for the school, they are saying ‘this number is not registered for TELA’. Also, the headteacher’s tag is not working. It completely failed.

“Now I am stuck. I came to the district three times, they said it is a nationwide issue and that it will be rectified,” said Atiku.

At Nyarilo Primary School in Koboko district, administrators also failed to upload staff details into the system.

Muhammad Bobole, the school’s headteacher, said they have resorted to manual registration.

Harriet Ritah, the Koboko district inspector of schools, said 70% of the schools in the district have tried to implement the TELA system despite challenges.

‘Nobody lies’

Rasul Luriga, the Yumbe district education officer, admitted that there are challenges but maintained optimism the new system will solve the problem of absenteeism in the education sector.

“It is a very good intervention,” he said.

“It shows on a daily basis the attendance of the teacher. As the teacher enters and [their] face is captured….with that thing, nobody lies.

“You are either in the school or you are not there. So, it is a very effective programme, only that there are a few issues. Our serious challenge here is the gap in ICT and internet connectivity,” said Luriga.