Unmasking the Face of Covid-19 Education System in Uganda

UNMASKING THE FACE OF COVID-19 EDUCATION SYSTEM IN UGANDA:

THE NEW SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM OF UGANDA (2020)

Presented by: Supervised by:

OCHEN JOSEPH NIKOLA PANTIC

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special thanks go out to teachers from Alliance Secondary School who made this possible. With a sincere gratitude I would also thank Mr. Owiny Patrick, the Program Coordinator Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative(WPDI), and all the entire staff Team of WPDI.

There are people who I owe great appreciation when it comes to this work piece, such people include: Mr. Nikola Pantic for his great patience, intellectual input and kindness; Mr. Elegu Elias the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) head who helped me with computer work related challenges.

Extraordinary appreciation goes to Mr Amayo Robert for his intelligent piece of work.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover page………………………………………………………………………………i

Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………………….ii

Table of contents………………………………………………………………………iii

Acronyms/Abbreviations…………………………………………………………….iv

CHAPTER ONE

1.0. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………..1

1.0. Background on the education system in Uganda…………………….2

1.1. The new secondary school curriculum in Uganda………………….3

CHAPTER TWO

2.0. METHOLOGY………………………………….………………..….….5

2.1. Description of study location………….……………….……………….5

2.2. Design of the study………….……….………………….…………….5

2.3. The target population…………………………………………………….5

2.4. The sample number……………..………………….…………………

2.5. Sampling procedure……………..……………………………………..6

2.6. Study tools and equipments……..……………..……………………..6

CHAPTER THREE

3.0. STUDY FINDINGS…………………………….………….…………..7

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION…….…………………10

4.1. Conclusion………………………………………….…………………10

4.2. Recommendation…………………………..………………………..10

APPENDIX 1. SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE………………..……….…12

References……………………………………………………………………………..14

LIST OF ACRONYMS/ ABBREVIATIONS.

NCDC : National Curriculum Development Centre

WPDI : Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative

UNEB : Uganda National Examination Board.

UPLE : Uganda Primary Leaving Examination

UCE : Uganda Certificate of Education

UACE : Uganda Advance Certificate of Education

ICT : Information and Communications Technology.

SDGs: Sustainable Development Goals

CHAPTER ONE

1.0. INTRODUCTION

1.1. BACKGROUND ON THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN UGANDA.

The educational system is one of the institutions that has been available ever since the colonial era (1878-1939). According to Sidonia and David (2019, p.244), the first educational system was “initiated by the voluntary Missionary Organizations” who arrived in Uganda by 1880s[1]. However, before the introduction of the formal education system by the missionaries, the African traditional society had its own ways of education children. For instance, it had elders gathering children around the fire place so as to pass on knowledge. This indigenous type of education helped each society not only in Uganda but the whole Africa to pass their educational values to the young men and women. In addition, according to Ssekamwa (1997, p. 245), “the curriculum was designed primarily to educate the children of potential leaders (children of chiefs and influential members of society). It was mainly academic with heavy emphasis on “classical subjects” like mathematics, English language and literature, science, Latin (in some schools), history and geography.[2]

Today the Ministry of Education and Sports mandates the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) to program the curriculum of both the primary and secondary level of education. National Curriculum Development Centre commenced its performance on April 1^st1973 enacted by an Act of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda. The level of education was divided into four stages, namely;

Nursery/ Pre-Primary,
Primary level,
Secondary level (Ordinary and Advanced levels),
Tertiary level/ University.

Nursery/ Pre-Primary level.

It is the initial start of a child’s journey to life in term of education. A child approximately three years old is introduced to formal education comprising language, color identification, number work, readings, nursery rhymes, story-telling, playground diplomacy, social development, sharing and praying. With all these values and norms taught, a child progress both in nature and stature.

It should be noted that no formal examination organized by the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) is given to the children at this level. This level contains three progressive classes with assessment at each level and it takes three years for a child to advance to Primary level.

Primary level of education

Primary level of education is a stage that consists of seven classes and it takes seven years to advance to the next part of the educational level. At the end of the studies the pupil is awarded a certificate called Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE). The Sustainable Development Goals four targeted outcomes state that, “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes”. This is part of the achievable goals but with the massive widespread pandemic of the covid-19 the progress of this goal is taking a slow trend of effectiveness.[3] According to Wamajji R.(2021), covid-19 has crippled the education in Uganda with a lot of the young girls getting pregnant within the communities, early child marriage, and child labor among other consequences.

Secondary Level of education (ordinary and Advanced level).

At this stage, a student should have completed the seven years primary level of education and scored a minimum of grade 4 (Aggregate 30-34) in order to qualify for this level. This stage is made up of six classes that is equivalent to ideally six years to advance to a university or to tertiary institutions.

The six years are further divided into two phases of initially four years corresponding to ordinary secondary level (O-level), and the final phase of two years corresponding to advanced secondary level (A-level). The ordinary level takes four years, after which the student has to sit for national exams and is afterwards awarded a certificate called Uganda Certificate of Education(UCE).

The two years of education represent an advanced level that provides the student with qualifications to study at a university or a tertiary institution. At the end of the two years study, the students sit for the final examination organized by UNEB and are awarded a certificate called Uganda Advance Certificate of Education(UACE).

The old secondary school curriculum was mainly executed by teachers making well-intended schemes, notes on the blackboard, or even in handouts for the advanced level students. As for the new curriculum, teachers are supposed to provide students with coursework or research but only guide them on how to achieve it. The emphasis on the practical learning is among the requirements in the new secondary curriculum.

Tertiary/ University level.

Tertiary/ University is the level of education that equips the student to best suit a particular job market or build deeper understanding of the course they are pursuing. There are two categories of the tertiary/university education in Uganda namely; the private and the public ones. The public universities are governed by the act of the Parliament of Uganda whereas private universities are licensed by groups of individual with a set objective. This private university/institution operate under charters signed by keyholders.

THE NEW SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM IN UGANDA.

The New Secondary School Curriculum is a newly introduced curriculum by the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC). According to Mubangizi P. (2020), a curriculum is defined as a description of what, how, why as well as how best learners should learn in a way that is orderly and designed.

The new secondary school curriculum was especially designed for the students who had just finished their primary leaving educations. According to the NCDC, the need for introducing some of these subjects practically is mainly to enable the students’ competence-based method rather than knowledge-based method. According to Mubangizi P. (2020), the NCDC set the current education system as seen in the curriculum is insufficient and out-of-date in a way that it focuses much of its attention to subject content at the expense of learner acquisition of marketable and transferable skills and competencies.

In the past academic performance of students shows that theoretical subjects such as history, geography, agriculture, etc. where usually compared to practical subjects like chemistry, mathematics, physics.[4] Drawing from my own perspective of the secondary education, students newly from primary school are not used to this mode of studies hence it becomes hard for a child from sub-standard primary school to cope up with such hybrid models of learning.

In my research project carried out before the President of Uganda imposed the Second lockdown on the 7^th June 2021, I conducted a survey on two Secondary Schools within Kiryandongo district. These secondary schools were the Allied Integrated Secondary School and Star Education. I came up with the following ideas about the newly-introduced learning system.

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 METHODOLOGY

2.1. Description of study location.

The study was carried out at the Bweyale Town Council which is a hosting community to Kiryandongo Resettlement Camp, Kiryandongo district Uganda. This area is situated in the western region in Uganda with a population of 36,700 (2020). This area is well known for having skilled business ideas and also their major business involved include maize buying and selling, hardware business, produce selling, small scale farming, retail trade, wholesale trade and so on.

2.2. Design of the study

According to this research assignment, I had to engage my sources in the following research method so as to execute my project; observation, questionnaires, interviews, and participatory methods. I also had to use the secondary research approach, that is by using online databases and other secondary literature.

2.3. The target population.

The targeted population for this research project included senior one students, secondary school teachers, parents and guides of this students, academic elders and some scholars.

2.4. The sample number.

Interviews

Senior one required four students from four secondary schools. Two were from the Refugee settlement camp and two from the host community which is Bweyale town council. In Uganda the term for school are in three phases namely; first, second, and third term which is the promotional term.

Questionnaires

Five teachers from these schools that is to say Alliance Integrated secondary school, Star education secondary school, Dora Blogg Secondary School and Panyadoli Secondary School. Majority of these schools are private-headed, with the exception of the Panyadoli Secondary School. Unfortunately, my research was hampered by the lockdown imposed by the President of the Republic of Uganda although I had interviewed teachers at Alliance Integrated Secondary School before they reported back from their holidays in term two.

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 STUDY FINDINGS

During this research work, the findings were the following:

The new curriculum is constrained when it comes to class accommodations hence making the teachers divide teaching sessions in shifts. That is to say the class during the lockdown has been downsized, so that some of the students remain home. Inadequate classroom has left a wide gap in the educational sector that is to say before the covid-19 pandemic came in, especially students in the private schools have been affected.

The new secondary school curriculum has advanced the knowledge of students and the teachers in technology, that is to say students can conduct their own learning through the E-learning platforms such as online lessons, or social media discussions, among others. With the guidance of their teachers, students carry out extensive reading which ends up widening their knowledge and understanding of new concepts.

Economically the covid-19 has hit the education sector hard. Most of the schools, especially the private ones, have been affected when it comes to loan recoveries, so other private schools borrowed funds from either money lenders or even banks with expectation of expansions when the school begins. Despite the covid-19 pandemic interruptions, they are being forced to refund the loans. So with this covid-19 invasion on schools and massive lockdown it set a boom to these institutions.

Most of the teachers in private and some in government schools have changed their career of teaching to other professions so as to support their families. This indicates a lack of financial support from their respective schools. Some of the most affected teacher in this sector are from private secondary schools with no monthly earnings, since the schools were locked down as per the directive of the president of the Republic of Uganda.

The changes in the educational system have not favored students in the rural areas who might be illiterate on ICT usage. In the rural areas, these ICTs gadgets are seen as luxury good. This is the case, for example, with smartphones that are a requirement for a learner who carries out research work and assignments, as well as with affordable internet data on the daily schedule, which is not favorable neither to students nor teachers.

Some of the implementers of this curriculum who are the teachers are not so much up to-date on the curriculum. Even though the teachers are meant to be inducted to the new secondary curriculum, the government did not carry in-depth consultations with other stakeholders in areas of learning. Hence with the implementation from the NCDC we see some limitations of this new curriculum.

The emphasis is on the practical learning in comparison to the theoretical. Much attention has been paid to group discussion and individual research work.

For the secondary teachers, the new curriculum is part of the changes that is so ideal, although they have loopholes. This has made the implementation a bit difficult for some of the teachers who are not oriented on the curriculum. The new curriculum comes at the expense of the school. For example in the rural schools which are not being financed by any organs of the government face challenges in implementing the practical subjects such as chemistry, physics, and mathematics compared to the theoretical subjects.

Mostly the curriculum emphasizes the practical teaching which can be good for imparting knowledge and skills but not all content are demand practical demonstration for example if it comes to some topics in biology and other subjects.

The students’ performances have become worse since they are getting to learn new methods of carrying out online research. And not all the students and teachers have the access to buy some of these gadgets like the smart-phones, Ipads, tablets, and the laptops. There is a need to understand that with the internet data increment of 12% levy will make the online access inevitable for students and teachers especially in the rural areas.[5]

The limited knowledge in the ICT is part of the failure of the curriculum implementation plans since most students coming from the rural school lack the computer labs, or even practical equipment within the school.

Inadequate training of the teaching staff on this area of new curriculum. The curriculum is also on a temporary trial process, the learning materials are inadequate to emphasis the program.

The secondary school teachers are not interested in this curriculum because in the previous teaching they were used to, according to the old curriculum, they were mostly teaching theory.

There are inadequate text books, learning schemes and material to guide the teachers on going about executing the teaching of the new curriculum.

High levels of illiteracy among the teachers and the students from the rural and some unwell urban schools regarding the ICT usage.

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0. CONCLUSION/ RECOMMENDATION.

4.1. Conclusion.

Both the first and second wave of Covid-19 has greatly affected over 15 million school-going children. We are not aware when the educational system will get back on track. This has left a large gap in the educational system. In comparison, children from the urban schools are carrying out electronic learning and third world schools are left out. The introduction of ICT in some schools created an opportunity for the learners to further continue with their studies by the help of their teachers.

The communication gap between the government and the teachers are one of the challenges that has brought about the indifference in the new secondary curriculum implementation procedures. If the stakeholders were consulted on the new curriculum it would have been introduced for every level of secondary class.

4.2. Recommendation.

The government needs to provide some learning materials to each and every student in hard to reach villages and some equipment so as to ease students’ learning. Some of the practical apparatus can be so expensive for a school to afford, some support needs to be rendered since there is the need to move from the old way to the new way of learning.

Consultation on the teachers views of the new secondary curriculum and providing how best it can be implemented. An intense induction should be done for all regional teachers in the form of a summit.

Service providers such as the MTN Uganda, Airtel Uganda, and other Internet providers should reduce their data price so as to enable schools conduct their online studies easily. The Research ICT Africa (2017-2018) indicates that Uganda has the lowest internet penetration (14%) rates of the 10 African countries surveyed. According to Mwesigwa D.(2021), after removing out the Over The Top (OTT) taxes that were introduced three years ago on social media, the country has introduced instead tax of 12% on internet data. The ministry of ICT should find ways on how to subsidies the internet rate for various schools, by so doing this the researches and online classes can be easily conducted.

Career guidance to the students. Senior students need to be provided adequate career guidance and skills. This can be done either at individual levels or even in groups. By doing so it will help a student to focus on the key areas they want to be. The act of nurturing a student is to prepare them for the future challenges to come. A student with great focus can never fail to reach their journey of education regardless of the circumustances.

APPENDIX 1:

SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE.

QUESTIONNAIRES ON THE NEW SECONDARY EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN REGARDS TO THE COVID-19 IN UGANDA.

To be Administered to teachers only:

What are some of the new changes that the education sector is undergoing amidst the Covid-19 pandemic era?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Are the secondary students updated with these new changes in the educational system? If “Yes” then how have they embraced them?

As a secondary teacher, what are your views/ experience on the new Secondary Curriculum?

What are the performances of secondary students with the new secondary curriculum introduction in the school?

What challenges are secondary teachers encountering as a result of this new secondary curriculum’s introduction in the school?

Are there similarities or differences between the new and old secondary education curriculum introduced?

Why did the government come up with the idea of changing from the old secondary curriculum to the new secondary curriculum?

How will this new secondary curriculum be sustained?………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
What are the various views of other stakeholders on the new secondary curriculum in Uganda?

In relation to the your experiences in this field, how do you take the old secondary curriculum to the new secondary curriculum?

Thanks for your Active participation and the time render on answering

this questionnaire. Your input is of great importance in this research

project.

Prepared by OCHEN JOSEPH

Student at Princeton University

Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative.

REFERENCES

Ssekamwa JC(1997), Readings in the Development of Education in East Africa. Makerere University Printery, Kampala.

Sidonia A. Ochieng and David C. Waiswa (2019) “Pastoral Education: The missing in Uganda Education System”, in Educational Research and Reviews, Vol. 14(7) pp. 240- 253.

UBOS(2017) EDUCATION: A MEANS FOR POPULATION TRANSFORMATION.

Saturdayvisionfebruary2,2019pageno.18,https//archives.visiongroup.co.ug/vision/NV020219pg18&27

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/uganda-introduces-12-Internet-data-levy-critics-say-move-will-stifle-online-2021-04-30/

Mubangizi P.(2020): UGANDA’S NEW LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM: MOVING TOWARDS A COMPETENT AND QUALITY EDUCATION SYSTEM. Policy Review, retrieved on 1^st September 2021.

https://cipesa.org/2021/07/uganda-abandons-social-media-tax-but-slaps-new-levy-on-internet-data/, retrieved on 1^st September 2021.

Wamajji R. AND ASIMWE JOHN I.(2021): THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON WOMEN AND GIRLS; WESTMISTER FOUNDATION FOR DEMOCRACY.

[1] Sidonia A. Ochieng and David C. Waiswa (2019) “Pastoral Education: The missing in Uganda Education System”, in Educational Research and Reviews, Vol. 14(7) pp. 240- 253.

[2] Ssekamwa J.C (1997) History and Development of Education in Uganda (Fountain Publishers 1997, 245p.):12. Development of Education 1962-1990, Fountain Publishers.

[3] See Sustainable Development Goals https://sdgs.un.org/goals

[4] Saturdayvisionfebruary2,2019pageno.18.https//archives.visiongroup.co.ug/vision/NV020219pg18&27

[5] https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/uganda-introduces-12-internet-data-levy-critics-say-move-will-stifle-online-2021-04-30/