The welcome dance

The mothers of Atanga Primary School students in Pader District, Uganda greeted me with songs and a welcome dance in October 2009. I was visiting their children, some of which had been removed from exploitative labor and enrolled in school for the first time.

The students were working towards their end of year examinations, confident that they would pass because they had been to school "every day" and the "teachers were good." Previously, during the conflict in the region, most teachers were not trusted - they were either corrupt, asking students for money, or worse, expecting sexual favours for good exam results. The government, and time, have gradually implemented policies to reduce corruption and to train teachers on alternative forms of discipline instead of using the cane. Some schools had counsellors with psycho-social training to counsel students and teachers.

Parents, especially mothers, were pleased with the different attitude of the teachers - providing classrooms conducive to cooperative learning. The School Management Committees and Parent Teachers Associations were also working with the community to save money for school development projects. Some had contributed to new blackboards, money for extra hours of electricity so students could study in the evening, and the construction of new classrooms.

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