Radio School Quiz Competition 2011

Radio Quiz Competition is a radio programme which runs on Nakaseke 102.9 FM. It runs live every Sunday.We started this program after realizing that there was a problem of constant poor performance of schools in final exams (P.L.E)’ in the entire District.
The Program is hosted in the studios and administered by a panel of examiners (these are teachers chosen from  different schools) who set the questions to answer and the winning schools advance to a next round. The process continues up to the finals. Schools are usually awarded accordingly depending on the prizes secured, these  are always offered by listeners (parents) of good heart and some local leaders and NGOs like World Vision.
It is now for Four years since establishment, the involved pupils have scored at least 1st and second grades.
The Telecentre has also provided a trophy for the wining school.’ Since establishment in 2006, the competition aims at;

• Promoting confidence among the learners.
• Uplifting the academic standards in Nakaseke district and Uganda at large.
• Enabling teachers from government and private schools share views and ideas related to performance uplifting.
• Enabling teachers to evaluate their teaching
• Promoting competition among the learners
• Exposing the pupils to the outside environment other than the class and school only.

Through this program, a series of successes have been registered;

• Pupils who participate in this program always pass with flying colors.
• Confidence among learners has been developed
• Reading and listening skills have been promoted among the learners

Free computer training to pupils who participate in the final competitions every year provided by Nakaseke Telecentre
the Programs are always recorded any and reproduced to give pupils chance to master the question approach given by the teeachers.
the First round is listed below;
Group A:  12/06/2011 Semutto Parents, Timuna C/U and Lukese C/U
Group B: 19/06/2011  Nakaseeta R/C, KibaleC/U and Nabiika Umea
Group C: 26/06/2011  Nakaseke Parents, Kasambya R/C and Mulungi Omu R/C
Group D: 3/07/2011   Nakigulube R/C, Butayunja and Real Light
Group E: 10/07/2011  Kasagga C/U, Mifunya C/U and Namasujju
Group F: 17/07/2011  Kigegge C/U, Namasuba R/C and Crescent
Group G: 24/07/2011 Semutto Mellenium, Lukyamu R/C and Kalagala R/C

Vocational Skills Introduced in the Centre.

Nakaseke CMC established a tailoring unit with the aim of boosting skill development for the rural poor, especially the girl child. 

Experience has shown that many girls in rural areas are not given the opportunity to continue with their formal education especially after completing Primary Seven or Senior Four, thus making them vulnerable to early pregnancies and forced marriages

The Telecentre then thought that it was necessary to  introduce such skills to        girls who are facing such challenges so that they  have an opportunity to acquire tailoring skills which will help them to earn a living in the future.   

About 24 sewing machines were donated by World Vision Kasangombe ADP and we are very proud of their efforts, and above all the love and spirit of supporting the rural poor.

So far the Telecentre has the capacity to enroll only 25 participants. However, we would have loved to increase the number to 40, but the facilities were not able to meet such a demand.

We therefore appeal to any individual, organization, or government office to support us to complete the Telecentre facilities. According to the architectural plan, it was designed to accommodate the Radio Studio, a Computer Lab, a Library, Information/Media Room, Conference Hall, Business Unit, and the office of the manager.

A half of the building was constructed by the Local Council through community mobilization and using 25% of the Tax compensation to the Parishes. However, the government removed the graduated tax and the construction of the building came to a standstill.

ICT -Connecting Rural Maginalized Communities

Nakaseke is one among the many Rural marginalized Communities in Uganda. However using the ITU funds Nakaseke has been connected on a wireless network using the Telecentre as the main Hub, now the distance has been brought to zero thus linking the Rural society to the globe village.
On the network we have 9 sites spread between Nakaseke and kasangombe Sub-Counties, most of the connected sites are Secondary Schools (4) , One Primary School, a Teacher's Training College, Nakaseke Hospital, and the Sub-county Headquarters.
The distance from the Telecentre to other connected sites ranges from 2 to 10 Km. and monitoring them is another challenge. However, the Ministry of ICT-Uganda has realized this challenge and donated a Motorcycle to help in the monitoring  process of the entire Network.

The Telcentre is now using the Community radio to Advertise the availability of the Internet to the community and also to educate community members how they utilize the service and change their livelihood. In this strategy we are focusing on training youth , Teachers, Students in Holidays and civil servants. To implement this goal we have also come up with a strategy of setting up a Weekend Training program to cater especially for the on going School Children and the civil servants to acquire the basic Internet and Communication skills.

The Center has also developed a training manual which integrates HIV/AIDS and ICT this achievement has been reached with the assistance of a Peace Corp Volunteer from USA. unfortunately the Center is lacking some funds for publishing. Therefore, we are looking for good partners who can help us in publishing this useful training learning material. I wish to share with you the document if you are interest in supporting the project. the main goal is to pass over HIV/AIDS information/ awareness to the public.

Rural Teachers Trained in ICT

Nakaseke Telecentre in collaboration with Radboud University Nijmegen-Nethelands organized a two weeks ICT Computer Training. 

The Training was focused on Teachers in both Primary and Secondary and about 15 Teachers turned up. The aim of this kind of training was to empower teachers to acquire all the basic ICT skills to enhance their teaching techniques through research and also to enable them to pass over the skill to their students.

The Training was facilitated by two students, Guan Schelleken and Ferdie, from the Nijmegan University –Netherlands who spent two weeks of extensive Hands on Training.

At the end of the training the Teachers found it necessary to form an ICT club ( Nakaseke Teachers- ICT Club) which will keep them together and acquire more ICT skills. 

The head of the Club is Mr. Kinyenya Robert, the Headteacher Mifunya Primary School. The Club is now open to all Teachers in Nakaseke and Kasangombe who are willing to join. However, they have to pay membership fees (Ug.Shs.5000/=)Teachers designed an ICT training Calendar which will enable them to acquire more skills.