Bunyoro Kitara history recalled in new curriculum, NCDC confirms

CULTURAL HERITAGE   EDUCATION 

Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom has a reason to jubilate, after the National Curriculum Development Centre's confirmation that its history has been added into the revised curriculum.   

The new ordinary level curriculum had excluded the history of Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom. 

Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom had earlier protested, its history's exclusion from the new O'level curriculum which is already being used in schools. With this inclusion, all new textbooks will have to include the history of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom. 

A letter from NCDC to the Prime Minister of Bunyoro Kitara, signed by the Director, Grace Baguma reads, "I thank you for the work you are doing in creating cultural awareness to the learners of Uganda and the cooperation we have had in respect of the inclusion of Bunyoro Kitara in the new lower secondary curriculum in the subject of History and Political Science." 

"As you are aware, the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) concluded the process of capturing the additional information in the History and Political Education in Syllabus in July 2020," Baguma explained.

Baguma says that the inclusion means that new textbooks will have to be printed, to cover this omission.

"Secondly, NCDC guided all publishing firms in Uganda through their chairman, on how to handle the information in detail about the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom during the textbook materials development," Baguma added. 

"I want to assure the Kingdom that the subsequent textbooks to be produced have the said information under Chapter 5 (State Formation in East Africa). The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to affirm that content related to the Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom was added and will appear in the subsequent reprints of the syllabus and the respective textbooks of History and Political Education." 

Earlier protests 

The King, of Bunyoro, Solomon Gafabusa Iguru, last year, also travelled from his palace to Uganda's Parliament in Kampala, to file an official petition over the exclusion. 

The Kingdom, in a statement issued last year by its Spokesperson Francis Mugerwa, said they have been approached with numerous concerns to the effect that the Kingdom history had been left out in the new curriculum on history and political education.

"We undertook consultations and established that our history was not featuring in the topic under state formations where Bunyoro was previously one of the case studies alongside Buganda, Ankole, and Acholi. We further established that Bunyoro's treasured social events such as the coronation anniversary celebrations (Empango) and Empaako naming ceremony, which was inscribed by UNESCO as a non-tangible heritage that requires protection, were not included in the new curriculum," the Kingdom wrote in their protest statement to the Government.

The Kingdom also noted, "BKK (Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom) has received feedback from Bunyoro MP's indicating that they raised our concerns in the NRM Parliamentary Caucus and got assurance that there will be an addendum to include Bunyoro's history and the curriculum will be passed with the same amendment," the Kingdom said.

The exclusion was also protested on the floor of Parliament later, by so many members of Parliament, especially those from the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom. 

Why care about Bunyoro's history? 

Bishop Nathan Kyamanywa, who is a retired Anglican Bishop of Bunyoro Kitara Diocese from 2002 to 2014; wrote in the media protesting the exclusion. His arguments clearly show why the bit about Bunyoro should never have been left out. 

He wrote, "I hasten to argue that, the spirit of the new curriculum may not be achieved if we deny the learners the gist of their history. It is being argued that the new curriculum has left the salient and key section of our history; for example, as contained in the letter of the prime Minister of Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom (Omuhikirwa) Owekitinisa Andrew Byakutaaga in which he argues that, "In Senior One, term two, topic four of culture and key ethnic groups in East Africa, the empango - coronation anniversary event was left out."

He added, "It is also argued that the empaako are left out. I quote "Topic Five on state formation in East Africa for Senior One, term two, suggests activities to guide learners to understand the organization of societies also excludes Bunyoro."

He argued, at the time that very few people will dispute the centrality of the history of Bunyoro as the cradle of the histories of most societies in the interlacustrine region. 

"Any good student of history will tell you the pivotal and crucial role the history of Bunyoro plays in the formation of several societies as we know them today — I dare say that the Batooro, Baganda, Basoga, Banyankole, Alur, Acholi, Lango, Banyabindi and numerous more as far afield as Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, and DRC have influences from the history of Bunyoro in the course of their historical development," the Bishop argued.