Speaking at the 3rd East African Teacher Education Symposium, Prof. Mathias Mulumba Bwanika, Dean of the School of Education, emphasized Makerere\u2019s commitment to the national reform agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve submitted the Bachelor of Primary Education programme to the Senate for consideration. Once approved, we will begin training primary school teachers under this new curriculum,\u201d said Prof. Mulumba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the expansion will lead to the creation of new departments, open up job opportunities, and reestablish Makerere as a leader in foundational teacher education\u2014a role it historically played in secondary education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the policy\u2019s urgency, Prof. Mulumba acknowledged that enrollment in the early childhood degree programme remains low. He attributed this to limited public awareness and the traditionally informal nature of pre-primary education in Uganda.<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nTo help address these challenges, the newly established Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education (UNITE)<\/strong> has also begun admitting students into degree programs for early childhood, primary, and secondary education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have received full accreditation and begun admitting learners. Those who missed the current intake will have another opportunity in August,\u201d said Prof. Proscovia Namubiru Ssentamu, UNITE\u2019s Deputy Vice Chancellor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Resistance and Concerns from Stakeholders<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The rollout of the degree requirement has faced considerable resistance, particularly from Parliament and ECE practitioners. The Pre-primary Teachers Training Institution Association\u2013Uganda<\/strong> petitioned Parliament to halt the policy\u2019s implementation, citing critical gaps in infrastructure and funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Key concerns include the absence of dedicated government funding for ECE, lack of standardized training materials, and the limited number of public institutions offering such programs\u2014at the time, only Kyambogo University had a relevant course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stakeholders also warn that the high cost of pre-primary education, especially in rural settings, could deepen existing inequalities and limit access for underserved communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Defending the policy before Parliament\u2019s Education Committee in August<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 2019, the Ugandan government introduced the National Teacher Policy, mandating that all teachers\u2014from nursery to secondary school\u2014must possess at least a bachelor’s degree by 2030. This ten-year transition period (2019\u20132029) aims to professionalize the teaching workforce and enhance the quality of education from foundational levels upward. The policy has since stirred national debate, particularly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"yoast_head":"\n