Anyone that has gone through Ugandan primary and secondary schools knows without any doubt that it has been illegal to own a phone at school. Nakasero secondary schools; one of the secondary schools in Kampala has come out to give its reasons why it has permitted students in form one and form two to carry smartphones into their classes.
According to the director of studies at Nakasero SS; Mr. Mubiru Godfrey, this is an attempt to initiate the new Uganda education curriculum that seeks to have students do in-depth research about the given topics, students making their own notes all under the supervision of a teacher. They will be using smartphones, the computer laboratory, and the library to achieve this goal.
He said smartphones make it easy to download the needed materials by students. However, anyone that has gone through higher learning institutions such as universities in Uganda already knows that smartphones are not the best way to enhance students learning. It should also be noted that most of the wisest individuals that have graced this world are not those who keep online for a lot of hours rather those who spend more time making use of a library. The best research can be done through reading books not browsing the internet.
For the best learning experience, teachers or lecturers always recommended particular books. However, now is not the time to support or criticize Nakasero SS’ smartphones at school model rather an opportunity to identify whether this is a viable idea.