Retooling Of ICT Teachers at Kololo – 2017

Database Management Training Session

The Teachers’ ICT Retooling Program has resumed. This year 2017, units covered include Elementary Programming, Database Management, Desktop Publishing and Management of ICTs.

This training targets 300 Secondary School Teachers from across the Country selected by Ministry of Education and Sports.

Click to see the full list of schools
The training is conducted by Hood Nsubuga, Matovu David and Ayub Kalema Golooba

Over 1,200 teachers have so far benefited from ICT Retooling

New Vision Article- Sept 5th 2017

Workshops since 2011 when they were established. It is a humbling experience to reflect on the fact that this program started with an observation of a need for teacher training conceived while we were touring the country with Uganda Communications Commission Team under another project “Youth ICT Camps”. The issue was tabled, proposals ensued and for two years, we worked to hammer out a mechanism.

I remember the joy we shared on hearing that the proposal had been approved. Our strategy is a humble one. UCC supports us with funding for food, training materials and facilitators; the schools transport teachers, while Ministry of Education and Sports mobilises and oversees the training. Training takes place in a school, where the participants were formerly hosted in classrooms in the holidays to minimize costs.

Featured in The NewVision

We use a pragmatic approach in identifying training needs. We are teachers, actively serving in the profession,. As such we keep tabs on what the challenges are and maintain communication with fellow teachers in the country. This helps us develop a training program tuned to the needs of the participants; which explain close to 100% attendance of our sessions once the participant reports for training.

This retooling is a temporary endeavor which originally was originally conceived to equip teachers of other subjects subjects already in active service to teach ICT and Computer Studies. With time, as universities and colleges begin to churn out teachers,  and as teachers become more competent, it may be phased out. For now however, it seems the only credible way of upskilling teachers to effectively teach ICT/Computer studies.

We are humbled by the recognition it has received. Just this week, it featured for 3 straight days in the leading daily, The New Vision with teachers sharing testimonies, challenges and hopes.