MUKONO, Uganda — Fifty Advanced Level (A’ level) teachers from Uganda’s Greater Mukono region have completed a five-day training aimed at improving their implementation of the new competence-based curriculum, which was rolled out earlier this year.
Many teachers, including those in Mukono, had expressed difficulties in effectively applying the new curriculum since its introduction.
“We have been just fidgeting with the learners,” said Fredrick Wamboga, a teacher at Kyabakadde High School, after attending the training. “They had gone through the system for the last four years, they have been experts in the new field unlike us.” Wamboga expressed optimism that teachers would now do a better job.
The orientation, organized by the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), was held at Faith High School in Mukono Municipality. It brought together teachers from Mukono, Buikwe, Kayunga and Buvuma districts.
Michael Kato, the NCDC specialist who led the facilitators, said the training aimed to synchronize A’ level learning with the competence-based system students experienced at the O’ level. Similar training sessions were conducted simultaneously at 21 other centers in Uganda’s central region between May 13 and 16.
The new curriculum, replacing the old teacher-centered system with a child-centered and competence-based approach, is designed to empower teachers with methods that ensure continuity and relevance of skills taught at lower levels.
Kato advised headteachers to ensure trained teachers share their new skills with colleagues who did not attend the sessions, emphasizing a shift from rote learning to practical application.
Connie Masaba, director of Faith High School, highlighted the training’s objective of preparing children to be better citizens capable of solving future challenges. “Let us always keep it in our mind that we do not know it all, and so continue consulting with each other,” Masaba said. “Let us develop a positive attitude of change as a tool for getting our learners to better performance with regard to changing demands of society.”
David Manyike, headteacher of Faith High School, expressed optimism for positive results, noting that teachers “hold the tools for making the change practicable.”
Ritah Namirembe, the training coordinator and a teacher at Midland High School Buntaba, acknowledged that while the training should have occurred earlier in the academic year, participants gained clarity on previously misleading perceptions about the curriculum.
Agnes Nalugooti Onganya, a teacher at Namasumbi Senior Secondary School, stated the training helped them move away from the “old system of stuffing learners with study materials” and will stimulate learners’ critical thinking skills.
Due to limited resources, only up to five teachers per school could be trained. Organizers encouraged headteachers to facilitate knowledge transfer from trained teachers to their colleagues.
