PSFU-NBS Television e-conference: In Support of Prof. Wasswa Balunywa on Education Reform in Uganda

I followed the views of Professor Waswa Balunywa, Principal of Makerere University Business School during the online NBS television e-conference organised by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda and the UN Women from May 3-4, 2020. This was among the first and enriching conferences during the Lockdown imposed by the government due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. Other speakers in the conference were Barbra Mulwana, Gideon Badagawa, Hon. Victoria Ssekitoleko, Hon. Elly Karuhanga, Amos Wekesa of East African Safaris, and Patrick Mweheire of Stanbic bank.

Balunywa says “the education system needs a review so that lower-level education and science are funded by the government. If you educate people, you create a great difference in business startup and what to produce among others. Technical facilities should be given priority”.

He adds that “we need to review the entire process and plan that in the next 3-4 years, we have something new. Some of these things depend on our population growth. We have a lot of people out there who are not going to school and if that is the case, you cannot develop a middle class”

My view is that there is a need for every Ugandan to support the thinking Professor Balunywa has brought on board. He should go ahead and influence the implementation of the new Competency-Based Curriculum launched by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataha Museveni. This is a step in the right direction to strengthen the economy with the manpower that has the right skills. One of the reasons why Uganda has lagged behind is because of the way teachers were taught and they have taught over the last 100 years. The teaching is more teacher-centered, learners silently copy from the chalkboard and also cram whatever the teacher has said in order to pass exams and be promoted to the next level. The world of work today does not need that graduate. Professor Wasswa Balunywa should continue to address such concerns. We shall appreciate another article on this through his usual Facebook publications

The new Competency-Based Curriculum promises value addition by:

• Providing a basis for the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that are applicable in the everyday life of the learner.
• Nurturing every learner’s potential, in the premise that every learner has some level of giftedness arising from inborn and environmental exposure.
• Developing an engaged, empowered, and ethical citizen who will contribute positively to their own life and that of their community.

For our Senior One Classes, the learners are being provided with the opportunity to practice knowledge, skills, and values learned in school and apply them at home and in the community.

In Support of Prof. Wasswa Balunywa on Education Reform in Uganda