The Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda has launched a digital Realtime monitoring platform known as the Teacher Effectiveness and Learner Achievement System (TELA) to improve accuracy in capturing attendance information and reduce absenteeism in schools. The Directorate of Education Standards has started training headteachers on how to use the new system.
TELA is a time and task performance management system that captures evidence-based information for quick follow-up and decision making. Its main aim is to track the daily attendance of the headteacher and other teachers, as well as monitor timetable implementation.
In the past, schools used manual attendance books which were not accurate, with some teachers falsifying information by having their colleagues sign for them. Some books would also be stolen, further compromising the data. With TELA, every school is provided with a handset to enable the tracking of attendance digitally.
The new system is expected to improve performance by reducing absenteeism, which has been a major concern in the education sector. District officials will have access to the reports generated by the system, making it easier for them to keep track of attendance and address any issues early on.
To ensure that headteachers are equipped to manage their schools using the new system, the Ministry of Education and Sports is currently traversing the Lango subregion to train them. Kole district officials have expressed interest in extending the system to the health sector to address absenteeism issues there as well.
The introduction of TELA is a positive step towards improving the education sector in Uganda by ensuring that accurate attendance data is captured and that absenteeism is addressed in a timely manner.
