The Ministry of Education and Sports has finally given the green light to the development of a new A-Level competence-based curriculum. Sources from the Ministry of Education headquarters have revealed that Education Minister Janet Kataha Museveni has allowed the National Curriculum Development Centre to proceed with the development of the revised curriculum.
“This has been a major concern, but the directive is clear: NCDC should move forward with the development,” a source informed our reporter a week ago. Our reporter has since verified this information with the National Curriculum Development Centre.
Dr. Bernadette Nambi, Deputy Director at NCDC, confirmed the update during a meeting with the Education Policy Review Commission. She assured that the Centre will soon begin the process to ensure the new curriculum is finalized before the start of the next academic year.
This move comes in response to concerns and confusion about how current Senior Four students, who are sitting their examination in the next two months, will transition from the new lower secondary curriculum to the existing knowledge-based A-Level system next year.
When NCDC introduced the O-Level curriculum in 2020, they began reviewing the upper secondary curriculum to ensure a smooth transition for students. However, progress was hampered midway due to budget cuts resulting from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February this year, Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu, the State Minister for Primary Education, informed Parliament that while NCDC was still working on developing a competence-based A-Level curriculum, current Senior Four students would not transition to this new system when they move to upper secondary next year.
The following day, Mrs. Museveni clarified that the ministry had received guidance from technical teams in the education sector. They assured that allowing students from the revised lower secondary curriculum to progress into the existing A-Level system would not compromise their subject understanding or undermine their academic preparedness for higher education.
She added that while the ministry had initially been focused on revising the A-Level curriculum, they had chosen to slow down this process. Instead, their efforts and resources are now concentrated on consolidating the implementation of the revised lower secondary curriculum.
Before the process was halted, NCDC had made some progress. For example, they had completed the needs assessment and consulted various stakeholders on the A-level competency-based curriculum. Additionally, a draft framework for the A-level curriculum has been developed.
Stumbling Over the Same Stone!
Monica Abenakyo Monge, a member of the Education Policy Review Commission, questioned whether, despite the saying “better late than never,” the National Curriculum Development Center (NCDC) will be able to develop and roll out the curriculum through the proper processes and within the required time frame.
“With only a few months left before the senior fours sit their examinations and a similarly short time remaining in the year, we face the challenge of transitioning these students to the CBC at A-level. Given the difficulties we’ve encountered with rolling out the previous curriculum, do we think it’s possible to achieve this?” she asked.
In response, Dr. Nambi said that they would work around the clock to meet the available deadlines. However, she conceded that there may not be sufficient time for essential processes such as validation and piloting, which are critical to ensuring the curriculum’s effectiveness.
She added that soon, NCDC experts will convene to discuss how to address the situation, considering the challenges they are currently facing. Given that we are already at this stage, Nambi said they might have to proceed with the process while adapting as they go.
What the Deputy Director noted implies that if the new curriculum is implemented, it may encounter challenges similar to, or even worse than, those faced by the new lower secondary curriculum over the past five years.
These challenges include insufficient training for teachers on the new methods required by the competence-based curriculum, a lack of teaching and learning materials such as textbooks, and other issues that continue to affect the system, even though the first cohort of learners is expected to sit for examinations in two months.
Dr. Godfrey Bakaira, a senior lecturer at Kyambogo University with a background in Education Planning, Evaluation, and Curriculum Development, observed that the ministry appears to be reacting to major systemic challenges in a piecemeal manner, rather than engaging in proactive planning.
Dr. Bakaira acknowledged that although the NCDC will certainly develop and prepare the curriculum, it will present significant problems for implementers if essential processes like validation and piloting are neglected.
He believes that the upper secondary curriculum is likely to encounter more challenges than the lower secondary curriculum has faced. He summed up the experience with one word: tragedy.
However, Dr. Betty Akullu Ezati as the Dean of the School of Education at Makerere University, emphasizes the need for a positive outlook on the A-level curriculum, noting that the NCDC has the expertise to develop it effectively. She highlights that one critical aspect of the CBC curriculum is pedagogy—how it is taught. According to her, if teachers receive proper training, the implementation will proceed smoothly.
“During COVID-19, the NCDC provided an abridged curriculum in a limited timeframe, and it worked well because there wasn’t a complete overhaul,” she said. She further added; “If the curriculum isn’t an overhaul, you might even manage without a pilot. However, a competency-based curriculum relies heavily on pedagogy and methodology. It’s all about how you deliver the content. Teachers will need to be trained, and since some O-level teachers have already been trained, extending this training to A-level shouldn’t be too difficult. Let’s stay positive; things will work out well.”
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