Introduction to the Education system

After going to a curriculum workshop, which reviewed the new curriculum that was just created for teachers’ colleges, and spending the first few weeks in my primary school, I want to highlight some key observations I have made. First the basics. Schooling starts at nursery or kindergarten, but those are usually private so only available to families that can pay. Next is 7 years of primary school, at the end of which students (called pupils) take a leaving exam to go to secondary school. Secondary is divided into 4 years of Ordinary Level (mandatory) and two years of Advanced Level/ a college like the PTC I work with. If you wish to do a trade, you don’t need to go to A level, but if you want to go to university you must complete A level and do well. At the end of O and A there are leaving examinations as well. These are equivalent to the U.S high-stakes tests, like the MCAST. A few years back, the government issued a law that states that primary education must be attended by all children and will be universally provided by the government. Later, a similar law was passed to make O level the same, but there is some controversy over it and it is not clear if it is holding. Despite that, there are small school fees attached to school (much higher at secondary) on top of buying books and uniforms. For families making a couple dollars a day, this is hard. Not to mention that although school is free, lunch is not, so only about 200 of my 1300 students eat lunch every day. Ergh!

Ok so the new curriculum was put in place to increase literacy in school and highlight “peace education,” as well as insist that Swahili be taught in primary. So here is what I observed. The new things being introduced, like student-centered learning and continuous assessment, are not new by any means but just arriving in Uganda. However, the curriculum was and is written with a ton of things like, “suggested skills taught—critical thinking.” Unfortunately, there is no mention of how exactly to do that and the teachers in the field simply write it into their lesson plans without actually doing it. In sum, there are many good things being “done” in Uganda, but due to lack of teacher support it is not actually happening. Further, I saw firsthand how hard it is for things to get done here because meetings consist of hours of hearing everyone’s point and not actually deciding on anything. Despite this, the teachers I met are thoroughly dedicated to their jobs and do want to make a difference in their students (these are still the Tutors that teach new teachers at the colleges). So in sum, the education system is behind, but is on the verge of becoming current, if only the ministry would support the teachers in the fields and give practical ways of teaching.

At the Primary school things are different. Because of corruption and bureaucracy, teachers are only paid about 80 dollars a month, sometimes not getting their pay for months at a time, and are transferred to new schools on a regular basis. In the first few weeks of term, many teachers do not coming in or show up late and most students don’t come till week 2 or 3. Because of the lack of support I mentioned, most teachers are teaching in very traditional ways and physical punishment often occurs because managing a class of 150 students is extremely difficult. Combined with sickness, taking care of children, and little pay, it is hard to believe teachers come in to teach at all. However, there is Uganda for you. Although at first I was hard pressed to not call some lazy, the teachers are still teaching and do care about the students. I am trying to figure out the best place for me in all this and I think it is in providing the support and updated methods/strategies that the government is failing to give. Although I am frustrated that 3 weeks into term classes have not begun, I am learning to be patient and humble, acknowledging that these are the struggles teachers go through all the time. I cannot change everything, but hopefully I can find a way to empower teachers to use some new methods, introduce positive ways of disciplining, and getting the students to actually learn skills like critical thinking and problem solving-skills that would really help Uganda in the future if the general population had them. I am thinking about what it takes a nation to be successful and to develop and those are the things I hope to experiment with in the classroom. Ugandans may take FOREVER to do things, but they always bring their whole heart into it!