Hoima City education dept., embarks on STIR program to improve academic performance

The Hoima City education department has initiated the implementation of the School Teacher Innovation for Results (STIR) program.

STIR aims at enhancing teachers’ motivation and instructional quality to improve academic performance at lower education centres across all government primary schools.

The training aligns with the Ministry of Education and Sports’ recent efforts to professionalise the workforce and address performance concerns in the region.

In the last year’s 2025 PLE results, Hoima City registered 258 students who failed compared to only 233 in the 2024 PLE results and only 693 first graders, giving a gap to the city’s vision to achieve at least one thousand first graders in either Primary Leaving Examinations.

Therefore, the two-day teachers’ training which commenced on March 3 at Duhaga Girls’ Primary School brought together head teachers from 33 different government primary schools including Duhaga Boys’, Hoima Public, Duhaga Girls’, and Parajoki Primary Schools, all found in Hoima City.

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The training will have its climax on March 4 with the training for private primary school headteachers at the same education centre.

The STIR project officially became effective on March 24, 2015, following an initial commencement date of August 15, 2014, to improve classroom instruction, reduce teacher absenteeism, and enhance school facilities.

Sophi Katusabe, the education officer for Hoima City West Division, said that the program will help in strengthening cohesion between learners and their teachers for better academic performance.

Katusabe also said that the initiative does not only focus on bringing cohesion among teachers and learners, but also aims at providing guidance and counselling focusing on improving mental well-being and social cycle support to teachers.

She said that they have always noticed bad attitudes among teachers who harass learners in schools due to a lack of guidance and social cycle support.

According to her, having such an initiative in place will help promote a conducive learning environment for better academic performance among learners.

Meanwhile, she also said that the Uganda Teacher and School Effectiveness Project (UTSEP) is a US$100 million project with a grant from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

It is one of the prominent nationwide government initiatives under the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) with a core aim of improving children’s performance through strategic classroom-level interventions.

Tingira Murungi is the Bwikya Centre Coordinating Centre Tutor (CCT) and one of the tutors at the training. He narrated that the initiative will help teachers to have a growth mindset which involves normalising mistakes and having a positive self-talk during teaching.

Murungi, therefore, encourages teachers to always use non-scaring language to learners during their teaching.

Moses Ayebale, the chairperson of Hoima City Primary School Head Teachers’ Association, appreciated the training, saying it will help them improve their ways of handling learners for better academic performance.

Ayebale urged fellow teachers to put into practice the new teaching knowledge and skills acquired to improve academic performance in their schools.

Uzelle Joseph