Nine years of basic education: Would it make a difference for Uganda?
Jul 22, 2008
APROPOSAL to extend basic education to a duration of nine to 10 from five to seven years has met mixed reactions from most of Africa’s educationists. Under the proposal, a child would have six to seven years of primary education and two years of junior secondary education, before proceeding to upp
By Carol Natukunda
APROPOSAL to extend basic education to a duration of nine to 10 from five to seven years has met mixed reactions from most of Africa’s educationists. Under the proposal, a child would have six to seven years of primary education and two years of junior secondary education, before proceeding to upper secondary or taking other career paths, such as vocational training.
This would be preceded by reforms in the curriculum, so that a limited number of core subjects are taught at the junior secondary level.
This was the system in Uganda before the 1960s. The move, enthusiasts say, would ensure that children do not drop out of school before getting access to secondary education. They add that a child who has had secondary education – even for just two years - can never be the same again. But critics worry that it might not mean much, since at that stage the scholar is still too young to think critically.
The issue was one of the major topics of discussion at the eighth Biennale on Education in Maputo, Mozambique, organized by the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) in May. Over 600 education experts, including education ministers, converged to forge a way forward in tackling the problems in post-primary education.
Although countries would not be restricted on how to do it, the proposal implies that a country like Uganda re-introduces this system, which stopped in the 1960s. Back then, a primary school graduate had to first go through two years of junior secondary education, before opting to continue with the mainstream secondary education or take up vocational training. Today, a primary school leaver has to undertake four years of high school, and then decide to either go for A’ Level or join other institutes.
Jacob Bregman, the lead World Bank education specialist for Africa, noted that citizens who have completed basic education have fewer children, lead healthier lifestyles, get their own children to school and are better able to contribute to the economic development of their countries.
He said the current schooling systems had not inspired most children to join secondary school. Yet, he added, primary education alone was insufficient to ensure a competitive labour force, equipped with skills and knowledge for the economic growth of the 21st century. Statistics show that up to 70% of Africa’s youth drop out of school after primary school.
In Uganda, about 50% of pupils who enroll in P.1 do not even complete P.7 in the set time-frame, while only 37% join secondary school.
“We want most African youth to have completed basic education, should they drop out. Lower secondary plays a role of being a selection ground for one’s future career, but more children are dropping out at primary level,†Bregman said.
Harriet Nannyonjo, the World Bank senior education specialist in Uganda, said it would reduce the costs of education, if learners were allowed to choose a career path after S.2.
“Some of the students shouldn’t necessarily go through the mainstream school structure. We have those who would want to go to vocational school, but the system cannot reward or recognise them if they drop out at whatever stage. They have to wait for Senior Four before they proceed. This is costly,†she said.
“The system should should take care of different learners if we are to meet the needs of the 21st century,†Nannyonjo says.
But some experts were pessimistic. “If we haven’t been doing well enough with the current systems, what difference will it make adding nine or 10 years?†asked Alcyone Vasconcelos, of the Education for All First Track Initiative, a global partnership of international donors which supports countries to achieve the universal primary education goal.
“This is a political move. Children drop out of school for different reasons, including lack of interest,†she said.
Godfrey Dhatemwa, the commissioner of education planning in Uganda’s education ministry, says the proposal was earlier rejected by Cabinet.
“Some donors were pushing for it, but for what reason should we go back to the old system? We are not changing our system,†he said.
Perhaps, he added, it could only be viable for planning purposes such that the essential and practical subjects are covered through the O’ Level curriculum.
Education minister Namirembe Bitamazire agrees and says: “We have a standard system. We are even one year more than what others are proposing, because our basic education is 11 years. The cycle is adequate for competency skills.â€
Where has it succeeded?
Gambia’s tremendous strides in enrolment are largely attributed to the nine-year cycle. With the elimination of the six-year primary cycle and the adoption of the nine-year basic education cycle, the transition rate to secondary education is as high as 82% in 2001, up from 40% in 1994. If this pace is maintained, it is estimated that a 100% ratio could be reached before 2015.
Where has it failed?
In Nigeria, about 47% Nigerian children are still denied access to quality basic education, three years after the policy was implemented. This has been attributed to bad policy formulation, inadequate funding and general poor facilities.
It is also not easy in Madagascar. The government announced a new education structure in 2005 with an extension of primary education from five to seven years, but the process has proved expensive.
Challenges
It would require enormous resources to review the education systems and curricula, as well as have the assessment mechanism changed, so that there is recognition at the end of the nine years in school.
And like Uganda, some countries may not see the essence of having a basic education of nine to 10 years, when their current systems are doing just as well. When Kenya, for instance, shifted from the previous 7:4:2 to the current 8:4:4 in 1985, enrollment rates in secondary schools show a steady growth from 30,000 in 1963 to 860,000 students in 2003, and to over one million in 2006. Uganda’s also improved from as low as 17% to 37%.
How Uganda’s education system evolved
Earlier, perhaps in the colonial days, Ugandans only spent six years in primary school; three in secondary and an intermediate of one year before proceeding to university.
Then, it was changed to six in primary years, two in junior secondary and four senior years. In the 1960s, soon after independence, junior secondary was abolished and the primary cycle was extended from six to eight years and later on reduced to seven years. The system has since stuck – Uganda has a structure of seven years of primary education, six years of secondary education and three to five years of post-secondary education.
Why was the junior system abolished?
The decision followed a recommendation by a committee led by E.B. Castle (the Castle Commission), calling for the need to review the system that suited the needs and aspirations of a free country. Among other things, the commission proposed merging primary and junior secondary schools, expansion of secondary education and teacher training. They argued that this would improve the quantity and quality of education.
What were the cons of the system?
“It was time wasting,†observes Yeko Acato, the assistant director at the National Council for Higher Education. “Two years after primary was kind of a waste. Why not go directly to Senior One?â€
Any advantages?
By the time a child was through with the cycle, they were fully mature, Acato observes. “These days university graduates are too young, and the majority don’t know much,†Acato says.
Perhaps the major strength was that the system involved a lot of hands-on subjects which could benefit a graduate at whatever stage they dropped out, compared to the current system which tends to be theoretical.
APROPOSAL to extend basic education to a duration of nine to 10 from five to seven years has met mixed reactions from most of Africa’s educationists. Under the proposal, a child would have six to seven years of primary education and two years of junior secondary education, before proceeding to upper secondary or taking other career paths, such as vocational training.
This would be preceded by reforms in the curriculum, so that a limited number of core subjects are taught at the junior secondary level.
This was the system in Uganda before the 1960s. The move, enthusiasts say, would ensure that children do not drop out of school before getting access to secondary education. They add that a child who has had secondary education – even for just two years - can never be the same again. But critics worry that it might not mean much, since at that stage the scholar is still too young to think critically.
The issue was one of the major topics of discussion at the eighth Biennale on Education in Maputo, Mozambique, organized by the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) in May. Over 600 education experts, including education ministers, converged to forge a way forward in tackling the problems in post-primary education.
Although countries would not be restricted on how to do it, the proposal implies that a country like Uganda re-introduces this system, which stopped in the 1960s. Back then, a primary school graduate had to first go through two years of junior secondary education, before opting to continue with the mainstream secondary education or take up vocational training. Today, a primary school leaver has to undertake four years of high school, and then decide to either go for A’ Level or join other institutes.
Jacob Bregman, the lead World Bank education specialist for Africa, noted that citizens who have completed basic education have fewer children, lead healthier lifestyles, get their own children to school and are better able to contribute to the economic development of their countries.
He said the current schooling systems had not inspired most children to join secondary school. Yet, he added, primary education alone was insufficient to ensure a competitive labour force, equipped with skills and knowledge for the economic growth of the 21st century. Statistics show that up to 70% of Africa’s youth drop out of school after primary school.
In Uganda, about 50% of pupils who enroll in P.1 do not even complete P.7 in the set time-frame, while only 37% join secondary school.
“We want most African youth to have completed basic education, should they drop out. Lower secondary plays a role of being a selection ground for one’s future career, but more children are dropping out at primary level,†Bregman said.
Harriet Nannyonjo, the World Bank senior education specialist in Uganda, said it would reduce the costs of education, if learners were allowed to choose a career path after S.2.
“Some of the students shouldn’t necessarily go through the mainstream school structure. We have those who would want to go to vocational school, but the system cannot reward or recognise them if they drop out at whatever stage. They have to wait for Senior Four before they proceed. This is costly,†she said.
“The system should should take care of different learners if we are to meet the needs of the 21st century,†Nannyonjo says.
But some experts were pessimistic. “If we haven’t been doing well enough with the current systems, what difference will it make adding nine or 10 years?†asked Alcyone Vasconcelos, of the Education for All First Track Initiative, a global partnership of international donors which supports countries to achieve the universal primary education goal.
“This is a political move. Children drop out of school for different reasons, including lack of interest,†she said.
Godfrey Dhatemwa, the commissioner of education planning in Uganda’s education ministry, says the proposal was earlier rejected by Cabinet.
“Some donors were pushing for it, but for what reason should we go back to the old system? We are not changing our system,†he said.
Perhaps, he added, it could only be viable for planning purposes such that the essential and practical subjects are covered through the O’ Level curriculum.
Education minister Namirembe Bitamazire agrees and says: “We have a standard system. We are even one year more than what others are proposing, because our basic education is 11 years. The cycle is adequate for competency skills.â€
Where has it succeeded?
Gambia’s tremendous strides in enrolment are largely attributed to the nine-year cycle. With the elimination of the six-year primary cycle and the adoption of the nine-year basic education cycle, the transition rate to secondary education is as high as 82% in 2001, up from 40% in 1994. If this pace is maintained, it is estimated that a 100% ratio could be reached before 2015.
Where has it failed?
In Nigeria, about 47% Nigerian children are still denied access to quality basic education, three years after the policy was implemented. This has been attributed to bad policy formulation, inadequate funding and general poor facilities.
It is also not easy in Madagascar. The government announced a new education structure in 2005 with an extension of primary education from five to seven years, but the process has proved expensive.
Challenges
It would require enormous resources to review the education systems and curricula, as well as have the assessment mechanism changed, so that there is recognition at the end of the nine years in school.
And like Uganda, some countries may not see the essence of having a basic education of nine to 10 years, when their current systems are doing just as well. When Kenya, for instance, shifted from the previous 7:4:2 to the current 8:4:4 in 1985, enrollment rates in secondary schools show a steady growth from 30,000 in 1963 to 860,000 students in 2003, and to over one million in 2006. Uganda’s also improved from as low as 17% to 37%.
How Uganda’s education system evolved
Earlier, perhaps in the colonial days, Ugandans only spent six years in primary school; three in secondary and an intermediate of one year before proceeding to university.
Then, it was changed to six in primary years, two in junior secondary and four senior years. In the 1960s, soon after independence, junior secondary was abolished and the primary cycle was extended from six to eight years and later on reduced to seven years. The system has since stuck – Uganda has a structure of seven years of primary education, six years of secondary education and three to five years of post-secondary education.
Why was the junior system abolished?
The decision followed a recommendation by a committee led by E.B. Castle (the Castle Commission), calling for the need to review the system that suited the needs and aspirations of a free country. Among other things, the commission proposed merging primary and junior secondary schools, expansion of secondary education and teacher training. They argued that this would improve the quantity and quality of education.
What were the cons of the system?
“It was time wasting,†observes Yeko Acato, the assistant director at the National Council for Higher Education. “Two years after primary was kind of a waste. Why not go directly to Senior One?â€
Any advantages?
By the time a child was through with the cycle, they were fully mature, Acato observes. “These days university graduates are too young, and the majority don’t know much,†Acato says.
Perhaps the major strength was that the system involved a lot of hands-on subjects which could benefit a graduate at whatever stage they dropped out, compared to the current system which tends to be theoretical.