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The government has unveiled plans to roll out a national training programme for all teachers in Uganda to help sway behavioural change against corporal punishment in the country.

The training is going to start at a total of 326 schools before being rolled out to the rest of the country under the Uganda Secondary Education Expansion Project (USEEP).

“We want the learning environment to be more conducive so the learners can stay at school,” Stephen Ojangole, the deputy coordinator of Uganda Secondary Education Expansion Project (USEEP). 

He said the trained teachers will then be able to identify violent acts and make sure they counsel learners to stay in school.

Corporal punishment in Uganda is illegal, yet 75% of our children report being beaten in class, according to a recent national survey on violence against education done by Save the Children.

Ojangole said under the component of ending violence, they will ensure the protection of children based on the Amended Children’s Act 2016 and National Gender-Based Violence Policy 2017.

Stephen Ojangole, Project Coordinator, ministry of Education speaking at the opening of the cluster center coordinators of goverment secondary schools teachers at the Uganda Management Institute on Feb. 26, 2024. (Photo by Nicholas Oneal)

He added that they expect to support the training of the schools’ principals and teams of teachers to establish as well as maintain safe school environments; and implement social and emotional learning modules for children.

He said they will also sensitise community leaders, school-founding bodies and management committees, teachers, and work contractors against the dangers of violence against children.

He made the revelation on Monday, February 26, at Uganda Management Institute (UMI) as the Ministry of Education and Sport started training science teachers to acquaint them with skills in science teaching under the lower secondary school curriculum.

Under the training, a total of 200 teachers are being trained in the first round of training which will see them participate in mentorship and training of others across the country.

It is expected that Uganda will be able to amass a total of 14,880 such teachers by the end of the year.

Launched in 2020, USEEP is a five-year $150m (about sh592b) programme (2020-2025) which has several other facets, including the construction of 116 secondary schools and the expansion of schools in refugee-hosting districts among others.