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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The decision by parliament to halt the implementation of the new lower secondary curriculum has ignited confusion at different centers where several teachers are being trained to implement the curriculum.
Parliament voted to halt the implementation of the curriculum on Tuesday night on grounds that it was being rushed without adequate consultations with all stakeholders.
The decision followed a heated debate on the statement presented by the Primary Education State Minister, Rosemary Sseninde on the curriculum implementation, which was to start with the senior one class this term.
Our reporter visited some centers where several teachers were being inducted on implementing the new curriculum. Some of the teachers thought they would pack their bags and return home following parliament’s decision.
Leonard Lwanga from Kyandondo Secondary School in Matugga who is one of the 2050 teachers undergoing training at Trinity College Nabbingo in Wakiso district said some of his colleagues packed their bags when they heard parliament’s decision on media.
He however, says a team of officials from the National Curriculum Development Center- NCDC asked them to stay calm, saying the training would proceed as planned. “The officials noted that what had been said in parliament was simply politics and couldn’t stop the activity training,” he said.
Lwanga explained that one of the officials he only identified as Ms. Baguma (possibly Dr. Grace Birungi Baguma, the NCDC chairperson) told them to be positive about the training since it was carefully thought out by technocrats and it is to be implemented.
He noted that the new curriculum is good but concurred with parliament that it was being rushed by the implementers.
Discussion about the contradiction between the Education Ministry and legislature over the curriculum implementation occupied the teachers during their break and lunchtime with some wondering how government functions.
The situation wasn’t any different at other centers like Masaka Secondary School and Mityana Secondary School. Rhoda Namubiru, a teacher in Masaka district noted that several teachers didn’t turn for the Wednesday sessions following the news from parliament.
Some of the teachers complained that they are not grasping what they are being taught on how to implement the curriculum. A chemistry teacher from Trinity College Nabbingo, who only identified herself as Resty, said she supports the entire curriculum since it is more practical and eliminates irrelevant content.
She however noted that she was yet to grasp how she would deliver the revised content for the past three days she had attended the training.
“They are spending much time teaching us how to assess the learners. But the primary objective of learning how to teach the revised content has not been answered. That is why we’re here to learn how will deal with the content and the practical. If it is not addressed, the time will have been wasted, how will I assess a learner over what I don’t know?” Resty wondered.
Comas Nampa, a teacher from St Henry’s Kyengera says he is worried that the time allocated for their training is inadequate for them to grasp the content to be able to teach their colleagues in their respective schools. He says to make matters worse some teachers came in late.
Rhitah Namukasa, a teacher at Nyendo Mixed SS in Masaka also notes that the content given to them is kind of confusing and it complicated by the huge number of participants.
Similar complaints have been raised by teachers at Nabbingo were over 1000 teachers are congested in a single room with three facilitators.
Dr. Grace Birungi Baguma, the NCDC chairperson declined to comment on the matter, saying it is being politicized, adding that she isn’t in the right place to speak at the moment as a technical person.
According to NCDC, the new curriculum was designed to reduce learners’ load by merging overlapping and repeated content and dropping irrelevant.
The new curriculum also emphasised competence based learning instead and opposed to cramming.
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