An alternative to A’ level could still mean a bright career
Feb 08, 2011
THE 2010 O’ level results are out. This year’s results include those of 98,830 beneficiaries of Universal Secondary Education (USE). The results come against the backdrop of excitement following the pronouncement that the Government will offer free education to A’level students.
By ARTHUR BAGUMA
THE 2010 O’ level results are out. This year’s results include those of 98,830 beneficiaries of Universal Secondary Education (USE).
The results come against the backdrop of excitement following the pronouncement that the Government will offer free education to A’level students. Business, Technical and Vocational Education (BTVET) shall also be free.
However even with these measures in place not all O’level leavers will make it to A’level.
Even when the child gets a good grade, the chances of joining A’ level are still limited. The Ugandan school system takes only about 60,000 of 260,080 students who sat O’level. Some parents cannot raise school fees for A’level education. Does this mean the child’s dreams are shattered?
Alternatives
Stop cracking your head any more. These days, alternatives to A’ level education abound. With an O’level certificate, your child can pursue his dream career through another path. With a pronouncement that BTVET shall also be free, it’s a bigger relief to many a parent.
Nathan Twesigye, the Makerere Business Institute principal, observes that most students who fail to make it to A’level either do not have the qualifications or the money to pay fees.
This, he argues, need not be the end of a child’s dream. Such a child can enroll for certificate courses which are recognised by the Uganda National Examinations Board until he qualifies for a diploma course.
These are called single and group certificates and can be done by anyone who has completed Primary Seven, according to Twesigye.
Fagil Mandy, an education consultant, agrees with Twesigye. According to Mandy, not everyone must go to A’level after O’level or join a university after A’level.
“Most people think because they did not proceed to A’level, they are failures. We have to clear this thinking from the people’s minds,†Mandy states.
Mandy notes that the biggest opportunities for students, who fail to make it to A’level, are apprenticeship programmes. By this he means that a child can attach himself to professionals in a field of his interest.
“The essence of apprenticeship is for one to be willing to be attached to a practising person/group so that you can learn the skills and use them to either join them or start on your own,†says Mandy.
Apprenticeship programmes range from six months to two years. Other alternatives are teacher training colleges, farm schools, computer training firms, technical institutes and community polytechnics.
It has usually been considered that technical schools provide social and educational opportunities for ‘able’ secondary modern school leavers and others who missed their chance at school.
According to Mandy, one does not need to go through the formal education system to attain a career.
To drive his point home, Mandy cites his own experience. A Senior four drop-out, Mandy joined Kyambogo University (then a college) for a diploma course in education. Ten years later, he joined Makerere as a mature entrant for a degree before enrolling for a masters.
“A career doesn’t have to be achieved through a straight line. Success is not achieved through school alone,†he says. Mandy’s notion is supported by many other factors, such as government policy on training.
The BTVET policy provides a framework for developing technical skills as an alternative to the early years of secondary education.
BTVET comprises 145 public institutions, about 600 private training service providers and an unknown number of apprenticeship and enterprise-based training programmes.
The system includes Uganda technical institutes, vocational training institutes and centres, technical schools, farm schools and community polytechnics. These institutions offer practical, enterprise-based and on-the-job training programmes. However, before enrolling into a private BTVET institution, check its legal status.
A’ level education expensive
Experts say A’Level education is expensive. At the range of sh400,000 to sh600,000 per term compared to certificate fees at sh250,00 per term, a student can complete a certificate course of three terms with only shs750,000 while one requires at least sh2.4m of school fees to complete Senior five and Senior six.
If the child intends to further his studies, only certificates from recognised institutions shall be accepted by the national colleges and universities. To ensure quality and to protect their rights, about 450 of the institutions are members of the Ugandan Association of Private Vocational Institutions.
With all these options, therefore, there should be no more regrets if your child fails to find a place at A’level.
If the parent is patient and determined, the failure to join A’level should not deter the child from reaching his life’s dream. Rather, it should inspire him to get there through another route.
After the introduction of USE, experts say, Uganda should review her schooling system to allow students choose a career path after Senior two.
Education experts suggest that a learner would have nine years of compulsory basic education before choosing to proceed to Senior three or take other learning paths like vocational training.
This, the experts say, should be preceded by reforms in the curriculum so a limited number of core subjects are taught at the junior secondary level.
There are those who would want to go to vocational school, but the system cannot reward or recognise them if they dropped out at whatever stage. They have to wait for Senior four before they proceed.
THE 2010 O’ level results are out. This year’s results include those of 98,830 beneficiaries of Universal Secondary Education (USE).
The results come against the backdrop of excitement following the pronouncement that the Government will offer free education to A’level students. Business, Technical and Vocational Education (BTVET) shall also be free.
However even with these measures in place not all O’level leavers will make it to A’level.
Even when the child gets a good grade, the chances of joining A’ level are still limited. The Ugandan school system takes only about 60,000 of 260,080 students who sat O’level. Some parents cannot raise school fees for A’level education. Does this mean the child’s dreams are shattered?
Alternatives
Stop cracking your head any more. These days, alternatives to A’ level education abound. With an O’level certificate, your child can pursue his dream career through another path. With a pronouncement that BTVET shall also be free, it’s a bigger relief to many a parent.
Nathan Twesigye, the Makerere Business Institute principal, observes that most students who fail to make it to A’level either do not have the qualifications or the money to pay fees.
This, he argues, need not be the end of a child’s dream. Such a child can enroll for certificate courses which are recognised by the Uganda National Examinations Board until he qualifies for a diploma course.
These are called single and group certificates and can be done by anyone who has completed Primary Seven, according to Twesigye.
Fagil Mandy, an education consultant, agrees with Twesigye. According to Mandy, not everyone must go to A’level after O’level or join a university after A’level.
“Most people think because they did not proceed to A’level, they are failures. We have to clear this thinking from the people’s minds,†Mandy states.
Mandy notes that the biggest opportunities for students, who fail to make it to A’level, are apprenticeship programmes. By this he means that a child can attach himself to professionals in a field of his interest.
“The essence of apprenticeship is for one to be willing to be attached to a practising person/group so that you can learn the skills and use them to either join them or start on your own,†says Mandy.
Apprenticeship programmes range from six months to two years. Other alternatives are teacher training colleges, farm schools, computer training firms, technical institutes and community polytechnics.
It has usually been considered that technical schools provide social and educational opportunities for ‘able’ secondary modern school leavers and others who missed their chance at school.
According to Mandy, one does not need to go through the formal education system to attain a career.
To drive his point home, Mandy cites his own experience. A Senior four drop-out, Mandy joined Kyambogo University (then a college) for a diploma course in education. Ten years later, he joined Makerere as a mature entrant for a degree before enrolling for a masters.
“A career doesn’t have to be achieved through a straight line. Success is not achieved through school alone,†he says. Mandy’s notion is supported by many other factors, such as government policy on training.
The BTVET policy provides a framework for developing technical skills as an alternative to the early years of secondary education.
BTVET comprises 145 public institutions, about 600 private training service providers and an unknown number of apprenticeship and enterprise-based training programmes.
The system includes Uganda technical institutes, vocational training institutes and centres, technical schools, farm schools and community polytechnics. These institutions offer practical, enterprise-based and on-the-job training programmes. However, before enrolling into a private BTVET institution, check its legal status.
A’ level education expensive
Experts say A’Level education is expensive. At the range of sh400,000 to sh600,000 per term compared to certificate fees at sh250,00 per term, a student can complete a certificate course of three terms with only shs750,000 while one requires at least sh2.4m of school fees to complete Senior five and Senior six.
If the child intends to further his studies, only certificates from recognised institutions shall be accepted by the national colleges and universities. To ensure quality and to protect their rights, about 450 of the institutions are members of the Ugandan Association of Private Vocational Institutions.
With all these options, therefore, there should be no more regrets if your child fails to find a place at A’level.
If the parent is patient and determined, the failure to join A’level should not deter the child from reaching his life’s dream. Rather, it should inspire him to get there through another route.
After the introduction of USE, experts say, Uganda should review her schooling system to allow students choose a career path after Senior two.
Education experts suggest that a learner would have nine years of compulsory basic education before choosing to proceed to Senior three or take other learning paths like vocational training.
This, the experts say, should be preceded by reforms in the curriculum so a limited number of core subjects are taught at the junior secondary level.
There are those who would want to go to vocational school, but the system cannot reward or recognise them if they dropped out at whatever stage. They have to wait for Senior four before they proceed.