Govt to introduce three new subjects in lower primary

The government is proposing a raft of reforms for lower primary education, including three new subjects in a new curriculum.  
 Officials from the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) yesterday  said the new curriculum is expected to cost Shs204b (about $55m). 
It will involve introducing  Swahili, Science and Social Studies (SST) to learners in Primary One, Two and Three.
These subjects are currently introduced to the learners from Primary Four.

 The Deputy Director of Research, Consultancy and Library Services at NCDC, Dr Richard Irumba, said the move aims at ensuring that learners can comprehend the two subjects from the onset.
 “Schools have been implementing a thematic curriculum at this level and the principles of sciences were covered well in literacy,” Dr Irumba said.
 He said learners were being taught these subjects as sub-topics in literacy one and two, which he said were not being sufficiently covered and taught.

 Since the government is pushing the technology and science agenda for the development of the country, Dr Irumba said  this cannot be achieved without sciences being introduced to learners at an early stage.
 He added that SST on the other hand encompasses civic education, hence being very crucial to learners at a young age.
 Currently, pupils in lower primary are learning six subjects including four major subjects -Mathematics, English, Literacy One, and Literacy Two.
 They also learn Religious Education and Reading, which experts said are marked out of 50 percent.

 Once the new curriculum is approved, learners will learn seven subjects, starting this July.
 Dr Irumba made the remarks yesterday at the head offices of Monitor Publications Limited in Kampala during a courtesy visit to partner with the organisation in publicising their events, including the forthcoming international conference on curriculum development as they mark 50 years of existence.
Mr Taddeo Bwambale, the communications officer of NCDC, said the centre will use the Shs180b to, among others, develop and print materials, train  more than 150,000 teachers across the country and review all the subjects.

The Ministry of Education in 2017 rolled out a thematic curriculum for Primary One and Two after the literacy level among learners had dropped. Six years down the road, the ministry plans to review the entire curriculum for the primary level.
 It is required for all countries to revive their curriculum every five years to match the changing technology. 
 But Dr Irumba said this is difficult to achieve due to insufficient funds.

Meanwhile, the Secretary General of Uganda Professional Science Teachers Union,  Mr Aaron Mugaiga welcomed the move to introduce the Science subject in lower primary.
He, however, said NCDC should include the component of practical sessions at primary level so that pupils are also exposed to the scientific experiments at an early age.