BY RAPHAEL LUBANGAKENE
Pioneer students of the new ordinary-level competence-based curriculum sat their final exams last year, but a few challenges remain that experts at the Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) believe will hinder the quality of students produced by secondary schools.
According to experts, heavy content load remains a major problem, and they are currently collecting feedback from stakeholders, including teachers, students, and analysts, to remove repetitive content in several subjects.
George Wilson Ssabavuma, a curriculum specialist at NCDC, says there is still room for improving the curriculum even after initially removing some redundant content found in most of the subjects in the old one.
“When we initially designed the curriculum, we believed we had significantly reduced the content load by removing redundant and repetitive material; however, the feedback we’ve received suggests that there’s still room for further improvement, improvement,”Ssabavuma informed.
Ssabavuma added that although some teachers initially resisted the new curriculum, many have since come to appreciate its benefits after implementation. He noted that working with streamlined yet comprehensive content has helped teachers realize its effectiveness in enhancing both teaching and learning.
Ssebavuma also notes the impending review will seek to make the curriculum more manageable for both learners and teachers, without compromising the core competencies and skills the education system is designed to deliver.
Reports from the Auditor General on the implementation of Uganda’s new lower secondary curriculum also point to inadequate teacher preparation, a shortage of textbooks and learning materials, and overcrowded classrooms.
Apparently, those instructors who did not receive sufficient training are facing a big challenge in carrying out continuous assessments.
Therefore, the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) employed a cascade model. This involved training master trainers, who were then tasked with training select teachers from various schools. These selected teachers were expected to return to their schools and train their colleagues. However, this model has largely fallen short of expectations and has proven ineffective.
Among other alternatives suggested by experts are organizing in-service teacher training sessions during school holidays and adopting the center coordinating model, which they believe could produce better results.
