Learners have been able to continue with their studies through online and broadcast learning, for instance, radio and television. This is keeping them on track as they wait for schools to open. However, nothing is without challenges, and some students share some of the hurdles they’ve faced during this period. Jennifer Kayijuka, 16 I find home-schooling difficult because there are numerous distractions around a student. Such learning lacks a classroom feeling, which for many students can be a motivating factor. The communication between teachers and students in home-schooling is not stable and sometimes, the teacher will not be able to follow up with his students properly, as he would in person. Enock Rutaganda, 16 Learning at home has been a drastic change from what I was used to. Just like everything in life, it has its challenges; first of all, poor internet connection, and at times, the internet completely fails to work. This is hard to cope with. Secondly, sometimes it is difficult to use different websites and applications that we are told to use to submit different assignments. It is our first time using such instruments, so it takes quite a while to master. Lastly, since we have multiple subjects in a day, we are in front of our laptop screens for longer hours, too much screen time leads to eye strain. Even when we don’t have a live class, we find ourselves using our laptops to complete assignments. Sheba Liza, 17 At home, we are four children sharing two laptops, this is a bit tricky as we find it chaotic balancing the work we have to do and meeting the deadlines. I have been doing home-schooling for three to four months, and it has been nothing but a crazy adventure. It was really difficult adapting to the system and the new learning techniques. I was used to classroom learning and having the teacher around guiding me, which isn’t the case with home-schooling. I have to learn how to teach myself a few things and get used to the new environment. We try our best because there is no other choice. Samantha Muhumuza, 16 Even though home-schooling is a temporary solution, there are challenges that are not only faced by students but teachers too. For the past three months, there are a number of challenges I encountered. I know of many students in rural areas that cannot access or afford the internet, or the learning equipment like computers. Since every learner has their own pace of learning, with television and online learning, they never get an opportunity to have extra time with teachers. My prayer is that schools resume in September just like the Ministry of Education stated because we are missing out on teacher-student interactions, extra learning with teachers, asking questions where we have not understood, discussion groups with fellow students, to mention but a few. Arnold Mico, 16 Socialisation is one of the hurdles of home-schooling. This is always a big worry for parents. Nevertheless, there are ways to overcome the social disadvantages of home-schooling. Home-schooling is a bit hard when learners cannot access all the necessary equipment. Sometimes parents find it hard juggling their own work and following up on the students’ learning progress. All in all, home-schooling needs a balance with other life activities, not just burying one’s head in books.
