By KT Reporter
More than 30 headteachers from secondary schools in Kitgum and Lamwo districts have embraced a four-day ICT capacity-building training aimed at strengthening school leadership and improving teaching and learning outcomes under the We Teach project.
The training, which started at YY Okot Memorial College on November 25, ended on Friday, November 28. It focuses on basic ICT skills for school managers, including digital data management, the use of Excel, typing, preparing PowerPoint presentations, and projecting during meetings.
According to the Institutional Development Officer, Caroline Akullu Menya, the initiative is funded by the European Union under the broader Gender for Development Uganda programme, implemented by a consortium that includes UNICEF, Enable, KfW, and the UN Spotlight Initiative on Women.
Akullu said the training responds to the growing need for digital literacy among school leaders. “In the 21st century, headteachers need adequate knowledge on ICT usage. Many times, we want to meet them online, share reports or exchange data, and this cannot happen when they are not familiar with ICT,” Akullu said.
She added that the training is part of efforts to improve teacher competencies for better educational outcomes for both girls and boys. At the training, school leaders welcomed the programme, saying it is equipping them with much-needed ICT skills. Robert Okao, headteacher of Bishop Janani Luwum Memorial College in Kitgum, said ICT will improve data management in schools and simplify work. “We have been relying on paperwork, which sometimes gets lost. With ICT we can now store and retrieve data easily. This training is helping us catch up with how the world is moving,” Okao said.
Juliet Aguso, the headteacher of Padibe Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Lamwo, said the training has boosted her confidence in handling administrative work. Aguso said that in the past, headteachers were used to leaving computer-related work to secretaries and deputies, but the training has empowered her to do the work herself.
For Agoro Seed Secondary School in Lamwo, headteacher Christabella Anyalonyo described the training as an “excellent opportunity” that enabled her to understand and use computer programs such as Excel, which simplify data-related tasks. Anyalonyo is confident that she will be able to train others who are unable to use such programs.
Akullu, the project lead, believes that by 2027, the combined ICT, pedagogy, and school leadership interventions will significantly improve school administration and learning outcomes across the participating districts. Over 800 teachers across five districts—Kitgum, Lamwo, Adjumani, Madi-Okollo, and Yumbe—have so far been trained in competence-based curriculum delivery, assessment, and school-based professional development under the 2020–2027 project.
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