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Is it the learners to blame, or should we look at the teachers?

Let me share a story that brings this question to life.

A seasoned teacher at a well-known school in Lira District had spent over 15 years in the classroom. Mr Opio took pride in his experience and commitment. Yet, his Primary Four learners constantly struggled with comprehension and composition. To him, these aspects were basic. But test after test told a different story.

Determined to understand the root of the problem, he invited a fellow teacher to quietly observe two of his English lessons during the week. After the third session, the colleague offered a simple but eye-opening observation.

“You’re giving the learners tasks they’ve never been equipped to handle,” she said. “They’re copying comprehension exercises from textbooks and answering questions without ever being shown the how. There's no modelling, no step-by-step approach. They complete the tasks, but don’t get but with a lot of difficulty. They’re stuck in a cycle of effort without understanding.”

It finally sank in. He realized his lessons had structure, but lacked proper teaching of strategies. The pupils were expected to perform without proper tools.

The next week, he brought in another experienced teacher to observe the same class. After sitting through three more sessions, the second teacher added another critical layer to the feedback.

“You mention reading and understanding often,” she began, “but you haven’t taught how to break down a text. The passages are long, and the learners don’t know how to identify key information or link the questions to what they’ve read. There’s no guided reading, no structured steps. Many are simply overwhelmed.”

With these combined reflections, he realized that comprehension isn’t just about reading words, it’s about thinking through them.

He revised his approach. He introduced silent reading techniques, discouraged habits like lip-reading and finger-pointing, and began guiding the class paragraph by paragraph. They discussed visuals before reading and practised forming questions from short sections of text.

Soon, learners became more engaged and confident. Results improved and not just on paper. Learners now had voices, opinions, and clearer understanding.

Given that comprehension and composition make up a significant part of the English exam, this shift changed everything.

Sometimes, the best improvement begins with inviting another pair of eyes and being willing to listen.