MPs Punch Holes in New Education Curriculum, Want it Halted

A section of Mps are opposed to the new proposed curriculum saying it’s only destructive to Ugandan children instead of constructing them.

The legislators included; Rubaga North MP, Moses Kasibante, Kalungu West MP, Joseph Gonzaga Sewungu, Makindye West MP, Allan Sewanyana and Nakaseke South MP, Paulson Lutamaguzi Ssemakula.

These want the curriculum to be reviewed and halted until it’s fully studied and consultation made from different stake holders.

They point out subjects like Kiswahili that was made compulsory to students in senior one and two and making Agriculture (considered to be a back born of Uganda) an optional subject.

According to the National Curriculum development center, the curriculum will provide students with opportunity to be creative and innovative as opposed to just passing examination.

Kasibante says the Swahili has got no economic value to Ugandans compared to countries that are so much in business with Uganda like China and Arab countries.

“These countries that are speaking Swahili are first of all not many and they are now adopting English as their official language which we have already. Thirdly these countries are as poor as we are, we have countries were we are exporting our labor like the Arab world; these Ugandans need Arabic, Chinese to be able to trade with China which has 1.7 billion people and we are already trading with China more than we do with these other East African countries,” Kasibante said.

Joseph Gonzaga Sewungu faulted the NCDC for implementing a curriculum without the teaching aids like text books and enough trained teachers for each subjects.
“We are asking that this curriculum should be halted, you can’t make Agriculture an optional subject yet Uganda’s Economic back borne is Agriculture; most of the Technical institutions are teaching Agriculture but not taught in Secondary schools,” Sewungu said.

He added that, “You cannot pass a curriculum without providing text books to use, in education we use both teacher’s books and learners’ books; but the Ministry is bringing a new curriculum with not teaching aids.”

A cording to NCDC, under the new curriculum, the number of subjects taught at O’level in every school is expected to be 12 in both senior one and two for which 11 are compulsory and one is optional.

These include English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, History and Political Education, Religious Education, Physical Education and Kiswahili.
Among the optional subjects include Agriculture, Information and Communication, Art and design, Technology and design, Literature in English, local and selected foreign language (French, Germany, Latin, Arabic, Chinese).

The curriculum is meant to start on 17th this month when senior one students start their term.