___________________

Dr. Lawrence Muganga, the vice chancellor for Victoria University, has asked the National Curriculum Development Center (NCDC) to add two compulsory subjects to the already existing ones at the secondary level. The first suggestion was Patriotism, Community, and Environmental Responsiveness.

The varsity don appeared before the commissioners of the Education Peer Review Commission at Nakawa Business Park on Tuesday to submit proposals on how the education system should look like.

Muganga said most Ugandans have lost love for their nation. To solve this, the subject will be guided by the philosophy of “Country First” or “Uganda First." This is to nurture a generation of students who are conscious of community needs and opportunities. These students will also be actively engaged and mindful of the long-term sustainability of climate change and Uganda’s environmental resources.

“Someone gets a platform outside their country, and they use it to trash their own country. You may disagree with everyone, including your leaders, but you cannot disagree with your country,” he remarked.

He reasoned that patriotism, Community, and Environmental Responsiveness will motivate a highly skilled entrepreneurial workforce to better their country.

The second subject suggested by Muganga is Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies. For both teachers and students, learning Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Emerging Technologies (EETs) is a process of its own.

According to him, teachers will need to be adequately trained in how to use emerging technologies in education while training students at all levels in learning how to use the same technologies for both the classroom and the outside world.

“Technology should be a DNA of our education system because when SST is gone, when English is gone which, you can understand without studying, when Science is gone, technology stays with you. That is what this world needs today,” Muganga emphasized.

The vice chancellor suggests that students be introduced to and immersed in key EETs like AI, Robotics, Virtual Reality, and Live Streaming, among others. The development of new-age digital skills and AI interactive spaces countrywide will spark significant innovation and position citizens to compete favorably in the increasingly tech-savvy workplace. This will be both locally and globally, without having to leave the country physically.

He has also asked the government, through the Education Policy Review Commission (EPRC), to scrap the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB). The EPRC is responsible for drafting a new macro-policy framework for education and sports in Uganda. It was launched by the First Lady and Hon. Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataaha Museveni, in 2021.

The university don said the UNEB would be replaced by research, evaluation, assessment, and development (READ). Dr. Muganga made submissions during a public hearing before the EPRC commissioners, chaired by Amanya Mushega, at Nakawa Business Park on Tuesday.

“For READ to replace UNEB, it will involve using a continuous assessment test model to do away with exams and promote learners’ skills to think or analyze issues critically. A smaller team of READ can be kept to decentralize assessment by creating another entity called District Evaluation Board (DEB),” he explained.

The vice chancellor remarked that UNEB is relinquishing the powers of determining the brilliance, and intelligence of children, not creativity, innovation, forward-thinking or problem-solving abilities.

Filbert Baguma the secretary general for the Uganda National Teacher’s union (UNATU) said the current education system of assessment does not account for those who are purported to have failed in academics. He noted bringing DEB would encourage everyone to learn and give them a chance to develop their other skills.

“Our system does not capture those with natural talents such as footballers, artists or actors because there is no exam for them. If we can adopt a system that removes these examinations per say and have continuous assessments, reduce the teacher-pupil ratio, and motivate the teachers then we would get the best education system that accounts for everyone in the country,” he added.

A member of the EPRC asked Muganga how students in the current system would transition to the different levels of education since he was against the national certificates. He suggested School Transition Certificates, which would rule out the rigorous examinations at candidate classes.