Dokolo, Uganda – Head teachers in Dokolo District have raised concerns over the failure of the Teacher Effectiveness and Learner Achievement (TELA) system, a smartphone-based tool introduced by the Ministry of Education and Sports to track teacher attendance and classroom activities.
The head teachers, who oversee government primary schools, told Dokolo Post on Wednesday that the system has become unreliable, forcing them to revert to manual attendance records.
Isaac Okoth of Awialem Primary School (Okwalongwen Sub-county), John Bosco Okullu of Ilong Primary School (Kangai Town Council), Richard Ogwal of Kachung Primary School (Agwata Town Council), Boniface Opio of Hassa Memorial Primary School (Adok Sub-county) and Catherine Ayuru of Angwecibangi Primary School all expressed frustration with the system’s persistent failures.
“The TELA smartphones were given to us in 2023, and we were trained to enroll teachers’ facial features and fingerprints to track attendance. However, the system frequently fails, and some teachers couldn’t even be enrolled. We are now back to signing attendance books manually,” one of the head teachers stated.
In addition to technical failures, security concerns have also emerged.
At Anwongi Primary School in Kwera Sub-county, a teacher allegedly stole the TELA smartphone and sold it to someone in Oyam District.
The device was later tracked and the suspect, identified as Ogali, was arrested and handed over to Dokolo Central Police Station.
David Livingston Okello, Dokolo District Inspector of Schools, confirmed the incident and said arrangements were underway for a two-day refresher training for primary school head teachers on the use of the TELA system.
He noted that secondary schools were not facing similar challenges.
Dokolo District Education Officer (DEO) David Eryatu acknowledged that the TELA system had failed in nearly all government-aided primary schools in the district.
He assured teachers that his office would coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Sports to organize another training session to address the issues.
“The case of the stolen TELA smartphone is now in the hands of the police. We are committed to finding solutions to ensure the system works effectively,” Eryatu added.