Rethinking Uganda’s Educational System: A few

ideas for reform

A. B. K. Kasozi PhD (California)

Research Associate, Makerere Institute of social ResearchFounding Executive Director, National Council for Higher

Education (2002-12)

A: The constant need to rethink how we educate society

1900 Uganda Agreement 1925 The Phelps-Jones Commission1937 The de la War study/report1951 The Binns Study Group1952 The de Bunsen recommendations1963 The Castle Report1989 The Kajubi Report

B 1: My suggested areas of reform• Create original thinkers and innovators rather

submissive individuals who accept whatever the teachers, master or boss says;

• Put in place a student centred learning system where each child’s mind is given a chance to resolve problems rather than the current rot learning and use of calculators to solve simple problems;

• Fund basic research at all levels especially at the primary level when children are so eager to learn new things;

B 2: My suggested areas of reform

• Increase the variety of materials in examinations to avoid rot learning. Much as we have problems with examinations, in a multi-tribal and multicultural society, examinations are a fair method of access to few education places;

• Change the current 7-6-3 to 8-4-4 in order to create more science and technology students and more broad minded citizens;

B 3: My suggested areas of reform• Abolish the current specialization into Arts on the one side

and Science on the other until students have completed the first degree. We must remember that man is both physiological and sociological animal who must understand both areas of life to live a good life;

• Change the structure of higher education so that it trains more technicians per degree graduate than it is doing now;

• Emphasize research as the major activity of universities and teaching as a necessary but distant second by funding the former;

B 4: My suggested areas of reform• Introduce a credit system to ease mobility of students

amongst disciplines and institutions; and

• Adopt a new funding model, which Kenya has adopted, that increases both the institution’s autonomy, funding and accountability.

• Public universities should renegotiate with the government for a new relationship, most preferably through the granting of a charter.

B 5: My suggested areas of reform

• It is therefore proposed that universities should renegotiate with the government for a new relationship, most preferably through the granting of a charter.

• Each public university should, like private ones, get a charter or an agreement specifying its relationship with the government, and the obligations of the state and the institution to the public.

C 1: Major aims of education

The major aims of education are:To socialize the young into the communities they are citizens of;

Make them original thinkers and workers who can contribute to what is known for both their personal and community good.

C 2: Current structure of Uganda’s education system

Levels Ages Period of study

Current enrollment

Pre-Primary 4-6 2 years Unavailable to me

Primary 6-13 7 years 8.4 million

Secondary 13-18 6 years 1.2 million

BTVETS 13-18 1-3 years 24000

Higher Education

18-25 3-5 years 200,000

C.3: General criticisms of the education system

Major aims of education have not changed since missionaries landed in Uganda: to read holy books and get a job;

1900-1948 to supply functionaries to the colonial state;

1948-1960 To supply top administrators who replace departing colonial officials;

1962-2014 supply of manpower for the civil service, and may be to the private sector.

C.4: General criticisms of the education system

Current education does not encourage production of knowledge through research, debate, observation or innovation;

Rather it is examination driven from year one to university. As long as a student gets top marks, he does not care about what he has learnt;

Practical work and productions of goods are not emphasized. The system is meant to be academic, but does not produce knowledge.

D 1: Sub-sector criticism: Primary

In most of the world, aim of primary education focuses on literacy, numeracy, technical literacy, respect for culture and handwork;

Recent UWEZO report indicates that in EA, Uganda’s primary children not leaders in numeracy or literacy;

A UNESCO report of 2013 indicates a high drop out rate for Uganda.

D 2:Sub-sector criticisms: Secondary

In most countries the aim of secondary education, year 13-18, is to acquire knowledge of the major elements of known wisdom and to prepare secondary leavers for original thinking in higher education;

High school staff and students are not expected to add to known knowledge, though some actually do so;

High schools preserve and pass on known knowledge.

D 3:Sub-sector criticisms: Secondary

However, the current 7-6-3 system causes a number of hiccups: Students are divided into science and Arts

streams when they are too young to have discovered their real intellectual interests;

The amount of science or “arts and humanities” pupils learn up to S4 are too basic to be of any use to whoever dropped either. Many become too narrow minded; and

The system robs the country of potential Sc&tech graduates.

D 4: Sub-sector criticisms: Secondary

A very high emphasis on passing O and A levels undermines the delivery of quality life skills loaded education;

Pupils learn only what hey need to pass; Schools that perform well in examinations are

called ”First World” schools, even if the A grade graduates will be failures in life; and

An observation of PAKASA column has good lessons.

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D 5: Higher Education

• Trains and supplies the labour market with the skilled labour force needed to drive economies including teachers, doctors, civil servants, engineers, entrepreneurs, scientist, social planners, lawmakers and many categories of personnel;

D 6: Sub-sector: Higher Education

• Enhances the social upward mobility of individuals and groups and thereby contributes to social harmony.

• Equips society with the capacity it needs to function and compete in the modern world

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D 6: Higher Education• Contributes to the growth of knowledge

through training and providing researchers with facilities for creating , disseminating and storing knowledge;

• Contributes to democratic governance by equipping its graduates with intellectual skills to understand and analyze political issues before taking appropriate positions

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D 6: Higher Education

• Supports knowledge based economic growth through general training of the labour force and advanced training linked to a country’s innovation system.

• Strengthens the lower levels of education by training the needed teaching personnel and prompting or triggering relevant curriculum changes at the lower levels.

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D 7: Economic and Social Benefits of Higher Education

Benefits Private Public

Economic • Higher salaries• Employment• Higher savings •Upward social mobility

• Greater productivity• National and regional development• Reduced reliance on government financial support

• Improved quality of life for self and children• Better decision-making

• Increased consumption• Increased potential for transformation from low- skill industries to knowledge-based economy

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D 8: Economic and Social Benefits of Higher Education (cont…)

Benefits Private Public

Social • Improved quality of life for self and children.

•Better decision-making

• National building and development of leadership.•Democratic participation, increased consensus, perception that the society is based on fairness and opportunity for all citizens

• Improved personal status•Increased educational opportunities•Healthier lifestyle and higher life expectancy

• Social mobility •Greater social cohesion and reduction crime rates•Improved health•Improved basic and secondary education.

D 9: Higher Education

A number of tracer studies I participated in the period 2012-2014 indicated that most graduates were short of what was expected;

A recent IUCEA study suggest a number of room for improvements;

EA graduates do not have knowledge beyond their specializations; and

The UOTI emphasizes quality more than relevancy of what students should learn.

E 1: Policy Intervention

Education policies are political decisions. Civil society must link with bureaucrats to lobby politicians to effect changes. Academics should not just exhibit their professional titles. They should define the problems for society to choose relevant options.

E: 2 : General policy intervention

• Critically review the general aims of education to emphasize: Education as a producer of knowledge, skills,

and good behavior; Integrate the love and dignity of labor in

education; Reduce the importance attached to

examinations, certificates as aims of education in themselves.

E 3: General policy

• Education should be integrated in the whole national planning system

• Each sector should indicate to universities and colleges the number, the types and levels of skills it needs to achieve its target

• The Ministry of Education should agree to the return of Ministry specific training institutes to where they in the past for relevance of what is imparted.

E 4 : Primary level

Increase teaching in local and Kiswahili languages;

Integrate handwork and production of goods as part of the curriculum;

Reintroduce mathematical drills and abolish calculators in primary and secondary levels;

Discourage boarding schools for primary levels.

E 5 : Secondary level

• Change from 7-6-3 to 8-4-4 in order to: Eliminate early specialization into Science

and Arts when pupils are too young to know the consequences;

Increase the pool from which HE institutions can pick Sc&Tech candidates.

Eliminate later rigidity in HE;

E 6 : Secondary level

• Make secondary school education both technical and “academic”. Students should qualify in both in order to: Have a wide choice of areas to choose from; Develop a sense of respect for labour; Increase the national pool of potential

technicians; Get more applicants for technical colleges.

E 7: Secondary Education

• Review emphasis of examinations as arbiters of social rewards: Currently schools teach for examinations and 1st

World Schools are called so because they do well in final centralised exams;

There is need to have more than single final examinations to cross each level in order to increase areas for examinations

However, central exams increase fair access

E 8:Change structure of higher education

• Normal higher education systems are structured like a normal pyramid

• Ugandan higher education sub-sector is shaped like an inverted pyramid with: More students in universities at the top than

technical sub-sector or Other tertiary Institutions (i.e 2.5 graduates to 1.0 technicians).

The following figures illustrate:

139,683 in Uganda universities

58,383 in OTIs (technicals)

The sub-sector is an inverted pyramid as

Kenya

100,000Univ. Enrol.

250, 000 in technical colleges

E 11:Change structure of higher education

• To correct the system, the policy actions needed are to:

• Introduce a common credit system to enable easy mobility between the technical and “academic” sub-sectors;

• Get on to the 8-4-4 system to create a pool of candidates with Math & Sc. Who can immediately join science based technical classes.

E 12 :Re-emphasize Research

Having changed enrolment levels of university and technical institutions do the following:

First, start funding research as the major activity of universities;

The difference between a university and a high school is that the former produces and the latter consumes knowledge;

E 13:Re-emphasize research

Knowledge is key to national development and universities are the pillars of knowledge production;

Together with industry, agriculture and other research centres, they constitute national innovation systems;

Over 90% of what is taught in our universities & colleges is imported knowledge;

E 14:Re-emphasize research

• As a result, most of our graduates use foreign conceptual or theoretical frameworks to resolve daily problems. No wonder, employers find some of our graduates unable to perform simple tasks.

• The state only emphasises the teaching component of higher education. Since 1990, the funding of basic research and unattached postgraduate training were cut off!

E 15:Re-emphasize research

• There are more celebrations and jubilations at graduation ceremonies than at launching of books, journals or new inventions!

• The remedy is to balance funding for teaching and research at all higher education institutions.

• To change the funding model as follows:

F 1: Current HE financing model

• The current HE financing model is based on neo-liberal ideas with the state pulling the ropes

• Public universities are funded as ”government institutions” which must obey Parliamentary & treasury regulations and red tape;

• But universities are both national and universal institutions. Though locally situated, they have to compete globally in quality, access to knowledge, resources and staff.

A Proposed Funding Model

Next Slide

F 3: Institutional Autonomy

• Institutional autonomy is the corporate freedom of the university from external interferences by outside authorities including the state, the owners of the university, civil society and any other groups or individuals.

• It includes freedom to:

F 4: Institutional Autonomy

a) Admit and dismiss students according to set national and university regulations;

b) Hire and fire staff;c) Design and implement curricula;d) Set and mark examinations;e) Award or withdraw qualifications (certificates,

diplomas and degrees); andf) Propose and implement the university budget

F 5: Accountability

However, institutional autonomy must be balanced by accountabilityto the public, whether the institution is privately or government owned.

•Accountability includes:

F 6: Accountabilitya) Relevance of the programmes taught to the

needs of society;b) Annual auditing and publication of the

university’s accounts;c) Annual publications of reports of all academic,

research and publication activities of the university;

d) Good governance of the university; ande) Contribution to human knowledge through

research and publications.

F 7: Academic freedom

Academic freedom refers to the freedom of staff and students of the university to perform their functions without interference. It is the freedom of the individual university worker or student to act freely in the pursuance of knowledge that contributes to individual and institutional productivity.

F 8: Academic freedom

It includes freedom to:a)Teach, speak and write without interference;b)Set and implement one’s research agenda; andc)Hold opinions that the individual staff considers key to scholarship without interference from the university administration, the government, civil society, the media, funders or parents.

F 9: Chartering of public universities

It is therefore proposed that universities should renegotiate with the government for a new relationship, most preferably through the granting of a charter

F 10: Chartering of Public UniversitiesThe following sections of the laws should be amended to free any university from potential or real government micromanagement:

Sections 59(5), 60(3), 62(1) of the Principal Act (the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act; 2001) as well as Amendment Act 6A (2006).

Sections of the Pension Act that sets minimum age requirements for staff should not apply to universities

F 10: Chartering of public universities

Cherry picking of single items (like salaries) for negotiating with the state blurs the magnitude of problems public universities face—much as the subject method can bring a doze of relief. It is high time a holistic approach to the problems of higher education is taken by staff.