Uganda's New Curriculum in Crisis: Urgent Reforms Needed

Education goes beyond mere school attendance; it nurtures a nation’s human resources across cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains, fostering skills, character, and talents essential for prosperity.

In colonial and early post-independence eras, Uganda boasted a stable system admired across East Africa. However, initiatives like Universal Primary and Secondary Education in the 1990s and 2000s were undermined by politics, leading to demoralized public schools and a boom in private ones. Iconic institutions like Kashenyi Model School in Bushenyi now struggle with empty classrooms.

The lower secondary competence-based curriculum, launched in 2020, promised innovation with dual certification by Senior Three, but a midway suspension left pioneers in Senior Six without promised credentials. Teaching materials from publishers like New Vision and Fountain failed to align with Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) assessments, dooming students to poor grades.

Abstract jargon such as ‘bases’ and ‘items of construct’ confused educators, while ‘specialist’ dictates stifled flexibility. Projects aimed at skill-building lacked teacher training, and new subjects like Kiswahili and Physical Education were dropped after Senior Two, with minimal uptake.

Assessment reforms rebranded grades but equated top performers—nine As—with minimal achievers—two Ds and a project pass—under the same ‘Result 1.’ Uneb’s claim of 99.5 percent pass rates hides incompetence, propped up by schools, investors, and media misleading parents.

A robust education system builds self-reliant nations; Uganda’s shambles risks dependency and instability.

Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)