Uganda, April 23 -- Primary Seven pupils in the eastern Ugandan district of Namutumba cannot read a text in their local language (Lusoga), dealing a blow to a government policy.

The new curriculum, which was introduced by the Ministry of Education in 2013, requires pupils in lower classes to be taught in their mother tongues as the first teaching language before taking on English.

It was hoped that the policy, which had been piloted and approved by researchers at both local and international levels, would improve on the pupils' performance, especially in Namutumba, which is one of the districts in Busoga sub-region with high failure rates in the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE).

But authorities have realised that there is a low learn...