The curriculum has attracted nationwide criticism among members of the public and educationists. Last week, the Parliament of Uganda suspended its implementation after a heated plenary on grounds of inadequate stakeholder consultation. They said that the schools were not adequately prepared to roll out the new curriculum.
L-R; Bernard Janja of NCDC, Chairperson of Senior Secondary Schools’ Association of Head-teachers in Acholi Christopher Opoka (Red Coat) and Okot P. Bitek of SESAMAT addresing teachers in Gulu last week - Photo by Dominic Ochola
The Senior Secondary Schools’
Association of Head-teachers in Acholi sub-region has rallied teachers to roll
out the revised lower secondary education curriculum as senior one students
report for classes on Monday, February, 17.
The curriculum has
attracted nationwide criticism among members of the public and educationists. Last
week, the Parliament of Uganda suspended its implementation after a heated plenary on grounds of inadequate stakeholder consultation. They
said that the schools were not adequately prepared to roll out the new
curriculum.
Early this month, more than 750
teachers drawn from across 145 schools in Acholi sub region convened at Sacred
Heart Secondary School in Gulu, for a week-long training on the implementation
of the curriculum. However, the teachers said they were not well prepared to
carry out the task even after being trained by facilitators from the National
Curriculum Development Centre – NCDC.
But the Chairperson of the Senior
Secondary Schools’ Association of Head-teachers in Acholi, Christopher Opoka
has rallied different schools and teachers under the association to disregard
the influence of the MPs unless the Education Ministry communicates otherwise.
//Cue in; “We have people…
Cue out…always been doing.”//
Opoka, also the Headteacher of
Kitgum High School argues that teachers across the country are the first line
of defence towards the success or failure of the momentous curriculum that took
12 years for the government to modify.
//Cue in; “We are working…
Cue out…play your role.”//
But Isaac Ocan, a teacher of
Biology and Chemistry at St. John Pope Paul II Secondary School in Gulu
district asserts that the developers of the new curriculum should think of the
consequences of rushing its implementation.
//Cue in; “They have informed…
Cue out…going to crush.”//
Okot P. Bitek, the Chairperson of
Secondary Schools Mathematics (SESAMAT) Program in Acholi sub-region is optimistic that despite the controversies surrounding the curriculum, it will soon be implemented.
//Cue in; “The new curriculum…
Cue out…with the generals.”//
Responding to the scarcity of
materials for implementation of the curriculum, Bernard Janja, a Curriculum
Development Specialist at NCDC encouraged schools and teachers to mobilize
their resources and roll out the programme.
//Cue in; “You are going…
Cue out…them on market.”//
Teaching the revised subjects
under the new curriculum will require a school to teach 12 subjects at Senior
One and Two, out of which 11 will be compulsory whereas one will be optional.
NCDC has condensed 43 subjects from the old curriculum to 21.
The approved curriculum will see
Senior three and senior four learners concentrate on a minimum of eight and a
maximum of nine subjects with seven of them compulsory. meanwhile a school
routine will be expected to end at 4:30 p.m.
According to the curriculum,
teachers will accumulate learners’ achievement from formative assessment in the
sequence of four years to find an average score that will contribute 20 per
cent in the final exams set by Uganda National Examinations Board - UNEB
Ochola's journalism career begun from Radio King 90.2 FM in Gulu around 2009, and Radio Rupiny 95.7 Fm under Vision Group in 2012. He also reported for Mighty Fire 91.5 Fm, Kitgum in 2015 before joining Wizarts Foundation in 2017.
He has been reporting for Uganda Radio Network (URN) since 2017 before being posted as Bureau Chief Kitgum, and later Gulu between 2018 - 2021. Currently, he reports from Parliament.
