The Minister of Education and sports also First Lady Ms Janet Kataaha Museveni has tasked the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), the body in charge of drafting content taught in schools to review what is being taught to children in primary schools to help them to think for them selves.
“I have given a go-ahead for the review of the curriculum for our primary school level of education next financial year, with support from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). They should make it lean through removing obsolete content, enriching it with the teaching of values and age appropriate skills to the learners in a learner centered manner,” Ms Museveni said.
The government is in preparation of making changes in three subjects taught in primary, and according to the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) this all process will cost them 55 US dollars in Ugandan shillings 204 trillions.
The government is also set to introduce Swahili language, Science and Social Studies (SST) to primary however NCDC says Swahili language is to be taught in primary four (P.4) and other revised subjects are to to start straight from primary one (P.1).
During the conference, Dr. Grace Baguma, the Director National Curriculum Development Center, (NCDC), said that these changes in the curriculum is starting next year 2024 and will help to boost the brains of students at a tender age.
“…because some of the strands of science and social studies for example have remained silent P.1 and P.3 the emphasis has been numeracy rather literacy and numerous has not been so much, so we need to see the child of P.1,P.2 and P.3 needs also to know a bit of social studies,” Dr Baguma said.
The NCDC says they will use they need Shs180 billions in printing materials to be used for this new curriculum, training teaching over 150,000 teachers from old curriculum which has been in place for 17 years to the new introduced curriculum.
On her opening of the two days Uganda National Curriculum Development Centre 1st ever international conference held at Speke resort Munyonyo, H.E the minister for education Janet Kataaha Museveni, said the government is ready to change things taught in schools in the interest of the whites.
“We look forward to working with our partners from all walks of life to share idea experiences and best practices in curriculum developments and reforms.” Says H.E Janet Kataaha Museveni the education minister.
The keynote speaker of this conference who is also the secretary of the Organisation for Educational Cooperation, Sheikh Manssour Bin Musallam called for the need to stop teaching students Europeans things and concentrate on things here in Uganda and technology using their mother languages to ensure inclusive education.
Sheikh also listed four pillars which can help Ugandan education which includes context, transdisciplinary, dialectic and intercultural aspects.
