Pupils attending an assembly at Enderu Primary School in Arua district during third term

BY CONAN BUSINGE

ALL primary schools in the country will be required to follow a new curriculum for Primary 4 and 5, beginning next term.

The new content will be simpler, more down-to-earth and introduce pupils to the basics of English, according to Connie Kateeba, head of the National Curriculum Development Centre in the education ministry. Graphs, tables and literature used have also been made simpler.

Much as pupils at this level will be taught in English, teachers will be encouraged to use vernacular to explain the more difficult concepts.

Teachers will also be allowed to use local languages when handling pupils with special learning needs. However, beyond P4, teaching in vernacular will be strictly prohibited.

Kateeba explained that in lower primary, pupils are taught in vernacular using a curriculum based on themes, rather than subjects. The introduction of subjects and the change to English as the medium of teaching in P4 is aimed at preparing them for upper primary education.

The basic English that used to be taught from P1-3 will now be taught in P4, according to Kateeba.

The new curriculum provides for seven subjects, namely English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Religious Education, Integrated Science, Local Languages and Creative Arts and Physical Education.

The difficult topics that were dropped from the lower primary school curriculum have been introduced in the P4 syllabus. In lower primary, text books were not being used, but in Primary 4 they will be introduced.

This is the second phase of the primary education curriculum review. The first one, dubbed thematic curriculum, was rolled out in 2007 for P1 up to P3. After another two years, a new curriculum will be introduced for P6 and P7.

Kateeba said the thematic curriculum has helped to improve the level of literacy, numeracy and life skills.

“This is a great contrast to pupils who previously failed to become literate even after Primary 3. It is high time we looked at middle primary’s curriculum review,” she noted.

Education minister Namirembe Bitamazire recently said a 2004 study by the Government had recommended a curriculum review. The review raised concerns about failure by many children to acquire sufficient literacy and counting skills in both local languages and English.

In preparation for the new curriculum, the National Curriculum Development Centre is planning to carry out training for primary teachers and district officials ahead of the new term.

The training will be conducted in a chain; a core team will train the Master of Trainers and in turn these will teach Trainers of Trainers.

The latter will finally coach P4 and P5 teachers. At the end of the whole process, 45,000 teachers for private and government schools will have been trained.

With enrolment in primary schools tripling as a result of universal education, there had been concerns about the quality of education going down and drop-out rates remaining high.

The reviewed curriculum is expected to address these concerns.