(This article was first published in the New Vision on July 27, 2022)
By Ivan Tsebeni
Students in various schools around the country have developed several products since education institutions reopened early this year.
For instance, a group of students at Caltec Academy in Makerere, a city suburb, led by Esther Nantongo, a Senior Two student, have developed an application, Next Chat, to facilitate online learning.
The mobile phone application was one of the students’ projects exhibited during the Uganda Science Education Programme (USEP) annual symposium at St Joseph’s Girls Senior Secondary School, Nsambya in Kampala recently.
The students said the application will enable learners to interact with one another and share learning materials.
Once it is up and running, the application is expected to allow students to hold discussions online and download academic content uploaded by their teachers.
“This application is designed in a way that allows collective learning. Teachers and students from different institutions across the globe can share knowledge using this application,” Nantongo said.
George Molika, a teacher who worked with the students to develop the application, said learners can take advantage of this technological innovation to continue learning during holidays.
“Students who miss classes for various reasons can find the notes on the application,” Molika said, adding that the school will contact the Government through the ministries of education and ICT for support to popularise the application.
‘Support Learners’
Other students from various schools including, , Rwamurunga Community SS, Mourlem Girls’, Moroto High School and St. Mary’s Ediofe Girls’, exhibited their projects.
This symposium was held under the theme Science innovations and enterprise in addressing the COVID-19 global challenge.
The students also showcased products such as liquid soap, cough syrup, agricultural spray pumps, sanitiser, immune boosters and juice.
Kedrace Turyagyenda, the director of educational standards in the education ministry, urged teachers to support the learners to develop more projects.
“Learners should be given time to practice what they have learnt in class by making projects. I encourage learners to invest more time in coming up with more projects. The Government is here to support the learning process,” she added.
Vincent Barigye, the USEP board chairperson, said the innovation project aims at equipping students with life skills.
Assessment
Kedrace Turyagyenda, the director of educational standards, said innovation and science are critical to the implementation of the new lower secondary school curriculum.
Under this curriculum, which is emphasising competence-based learning, students are required to develop projects, which will be used to assess the learners’ practical knowledge. Marks from these assessments will form part of the overall scores in national exams.
The curriculum was rolled out in 2020, but its implementation was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic
“The new curriculum demands learners to be innovative and practical,” Turyagyenda said during the symposium.
