Ms Deborah Basekanakyo (right), the head teacher Wanyange Girls SS, Jinja shows parents what her students have managed to do under the new Lower Secondary Cirriculum during an exhibition at the school last year. PHOTO/ABUBAKER KIRUNDA.
Anxiety looms large across the country as the Uganda National Examination Board (Uneb) releases the timetable for end of cycle exams today.
The timetable will cover Primary Seven, Senior Four, and Senior Six final exams.
Ms Jennifer Kalule, the spokesperson of Uneb, said the exams would be conducted between October and November.
The S4 candidates will be briefed on October 11 and sit for their first paper in Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams on October 14 under the new lower secondary curriculum.
This means the S4 candidates have just about two week to prepare for the UCE exams.
Ms Kalule said a total of 300,000 students registered for the UCE exams alongside 10,000 others who will sit for the transitional examinations under the old curriculum.
Anxiety
However, the new curriculum has left schools, learners, and parents unsure of the expectations and potential outcomes of the exams. Schools across the country, particularly those in rural areas, are still grappling with limited instructional materials, inconsistencies in grading and assessment guidelines, and concerns about how adequately prepared the learners are for this significant academic milestone.
The new curriculum, which was rolled out four years ago, is designed to shift focus from rote learning to a more practical, hands-on approach that encourages critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Uneb responds
But Ms Kalue said they have carried out a number of activities in preparations for the implementation of competence-based curriculum assessment.
“We are ready to assess our pioneer candidates on the new curriculum. We have over 300,000 students who have registered for these exams alongside another 10,000 who will sit for the transitional examinations under the old curriculum,” Ms Kalule said.
She said they have developed a tool for collecting school scores for continuous assessment at the school level alongside the numerous training.
Ms Kalue said they have done the training in all regions except in Central due to lack of funds.
“We have been training all teachers in all schools and we picked 15 per school provided they have Senior Four candidates slated to sit for the forthcoming new examinations. The training has been focusing on assessment at both the school and national levels,” she said.
Teachers, students at a loss
Nevertheless, Mr Anthony Nsereko, the director of studies at Hope Integrated S.S. in Kyetume, Lwengo District, says the frequent changes to the guidelines and lack of clarity on some aspects of the curriculum have made it difficult for both teachers and students to fully adapt.
Mr Nsereko says while the teachers are making efforts to familiarise students with the new format of questions, the uncertainty around the final exams is adding considerable pressure as schools scramble to complete preparations. But Mr Nsereko also says they are trying to expose the students to the new format of questions as they prepare them for the final exams.
Nevertheless, Mr Dan Munyambabazi, the director of Kisoro Vision S.S. in Kisoro District, said the conflicting grading system being circulated by Uneb and another given to school administrators by the National Curriculum Development Centre should quickly be harmonised.
“Despite the implementation of the new curriculum being expensive, we are not sure about how the final exams will be because the Uneb grading system is conflicting with the NCDC guidelines.
“The chemistry class at my school recently presented to me a budget of Shs6 million to buy reagents for their project. If we are to fund the projects for all subjects, it will be extremely expensive given the fact that the school fees collected are relatively low,” he said.
Similarly, Mr Amos Ahimbisibwe, the head teacher at Bubare S.S. in Rubanda District, said the teachers are not confident about what they are teaching and this has left the students to start guessing what the final examinations would be like.
Comparably, the head teacher at Buranga secondary school in Kabale District, Mr Kyaka Tumwine, said the lack of Internet in the rural schools has remained a challenge in the implementation of the new curriculum besides the insufficient instructional materials received from the government.
The Kabale district education officer, Mr Moses Bwengye, said there is need for thorough training of the teachers and the provision of enough instructional materials if the new curriculum is to be well understood and implemented.
In Yumbe District, Mr Jackson Andabati, a teacher at Kuru S.S. said some schools are yet to submit the 20 percent of continuous assessment scores to UNEB. He said with the UCE exams et to start on October 14, there was need to extend the submission deadline for the continuous assessment.
In Moyo District, Mr Martin Ulego, a teacher at Bishop Asili S.S., said the idea of introducing a new curriculum was good but its implementation was rushed.
"In rural schools the uptake remains low to both teachers and students because the materials came in late," he said.
Mr Fredrick Mitaala, the director of studies at Kalisizo Seed S.S. in Kyotera District, said the learners’ workbooks that guided teachers in implantation of the curriculum were not released on time and this affected their completion of the syllabus.
He said with only days for candidates to write their final exams, many schools were still struggling to complete the curriculum.
“Our candidates sat mock exams and we are trying to guide them to post better results in final exams using the samples UNEB sent to us,” he said.
The students and parents have expressed similar frustrations, with the majority unsure whether they will sail through. In Lango, the S4 candidates are struggling to comprehend lessons under the new lower Secondary Curriculum, with the majority afraid of failing the UCE exams.
The last lot of S4 candidates sat the UCE exams under the old curriculum in 2023, with the first lot under the new curriculum sitting the final exams in October.
Being among the first lot, Tina Tracy Aguti, an S4 student at Adwari S.S. in Otuke District, said she is worried she might perform poorly.
“The teachers only give us the topics and we study on our own, yet in the new curriculum there are no notes,” she said.
Another challenge for the learners are the scenario-based questions which require learners to think critically while answering them.
“Those scenario-based questions are challenging. First, they demand critical thinking and sometimes you may have the idea but answering them is a problem,” Aguti said.
Ms Sarah Obia, a parent and resident of Angwetangwet Ward in Lira City, said: “Most parents with candidates in S4 are worried that our children will fail the exams because they are the pioneer students.
Mr Filbert Baguma, the secretary general of Uganda National Teachers Union (Unatu), said most schools in rural setting are not ready. “The level of preparedness varies from school to school based on the location. Whereas some schools are ready, the majority in rural setting are not,” Mr Baguma said.
Equally, the Chairperson of National Private Education Institutions, Mr Hasadu Kirabira, said whereas the Uneb is still training teachers on the assessment of their learners using the new curriculum, the remaining time will not allow them to cover all schools. Uneb also expressed the above worries last month when they revealed that most teachers across the country had been presenting students with outdated questions during the assessment.
The finding from the research they conducted in May this year showed that instead of schools challenging students with higher-order questions that require critical thinking, the teachers had continuously set questions based on the old curriculum.
Now the experts fear that candidates may struggle to interpret and respond to the questions accurately, given the fact that Uneb will base the upcoming exams on the new competency-based curriculum, yet learners have been subjected to assessments that do not align with it.
But Prof Celestine Obua, the Uneb chairperson, during an interview earlier, said: “We are concerned but the situation is not dire. We will conduct remedial training for teachers on how to assess their students using materials we provided before the exams.”
Some schools ready
Despite the widespread concerns, there are a few schools that have expressed confidence in their level of readiness for the upcoming exams.
Mr Denis Mpuga, the director of studies at Jeressar High School in Soroti District, said there was no anxiety among the learners as they have been assessing the learners on the new curriculum. He said they had finalised the preparation of their candidates for the exams.
Ms Joy Success Biira, the director of Studies at Haven High School in Bundibugyo District, said their teachers had trained on the new curriculum and had enabled teachers to equip learners with the knowledge they need to excel in the forthcoming exams. She said that their teachers had been trained on this curriculum, and the students are likely not to face any challenges in exams.
Mr Anthony Oguro, the director of studies at Teso College Aloet, said they had adequately prepared for the last four years to sit and pass the exams.
He said the government supplied the literature for the new curriculum, and there was no cause for alarm.
Mr Aggrey Mayende, a head teacher at Busia S.S. said the rollout of the programme was affected by the outbreak of Covid-19, which disrupted the implementation. But he said although demanding, the new curriculum is the best and brings out the best in the learner but was long overdue.
"The new curriculum seeks to identify the special areas the learner is gifted in. So, this curriculum helps the teachers spot the individual attributes of each learner,” Mr Mayende said.
At Busia Trust S.S., Mr Nathan Wabwire, the director of the school, said despite the school being private, the ministry has supported retooling the teachers and given books free of charge to help implement the lower secondary school curriculum.
But Mr Wabwire said the the new curriculum requires more teacher interaction with learners.
Equally, Haji Mpungu Musa Musoke, the head teacher Masaka S.S., said they are set for the first national exams under the new curriculum although some of the teaching materials were received late .
He asked the government to emphasise inspection and provide equipment in time to schools in order to have a smooth running of the programme.
Masaka SS is among the largest secondary schools in the country with a student population of more than 5,000 at both O– and A–Levels, with the school sometimes presenting close to 1,000 candidates.
The head teacher of Isaac Newton High School in Masaka City, Mr Ezira Mulwaana, said the rolling out of the new curriculum was rushed and has affected its proper implementation in the past four years.
“The new curriculum should have started at primary level and developed up to secondary level for its smooth implementation,” Mr Mulwaana said.
He said they received books late, yet all activities in the books are examinable.
“We received some materials in second term in year three, yet the curriculum requires all topics to be exhausted for a candidate to be ready for the exams. There is no doubt this will negatively impact the performance of our learners,” Mr Mulwaana said.
The chairperson of directors of all private schools in Busoga Sub-region, who is also the director of Jinja Progressive S.S., in Jinja City, Hajji Swaibu Kitezala, said: “We lost time during Covid, yet the the curriculum is implemented in stages. We could not jump one stage and go to another because things are connected. So, most schools are having issues with the coverage of the curriculum in the candidate classes.”
The head teacher Lakeside-Masese S.S. in Jinja City, Ms Ida Birabi, said their S4 candidates are ready for the Uneb exams.
To sit for Uneb under the new curriculum because teachers have done what is expected of them. But she said since this was going to be the first sitting for exams under the new curriculum, she could not predict outcome.
Mr Leonard Ssali, the head teacher St Noa Mawaggali S.S. said they have registered 209 candidates for the maiden exams under the new curriculum. But she said completing the syllabus was a challenge, but they managed to follow the guidance provided by the Ministry of Education and were hoping for the best.
He said a number of students had developed skills in agriculture, entrepreneurship, and developing computer applications in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) space, among others.
Mr Jackson Muhumuza, the head teacher Arise and Shine S.S. in Masindi, said the continuous assessment now plays a significant role, with 20 percent of a learner's final grade coming from of various activities, including projects, assignments, group work, and practical exercises.
Mr Muhumuza said the students are involved in project work that requires them to research, plan, and execute tasks, which are part of the continuous assessment.
The head teacher of St Joseph S.S., Nakanyonyi in Jinja City, Mr Moses Kisubi, said they are ready for the exams under the new curriculum.
“Various bodies have been setting mock exams and we’ve been giving our students these exams so that they get exposed to the dynamic of answering questions in the new setting. Our students are prepared,” he said.
But Mr James Ocen, the head teacher of Adwari S.S. ruled out any poor performance by candidates, saying most of their teachers have been trained on the new curriculum.
“We have teachers who go for in-service training during holidays and when they come back they mentor their colleagues. So, the parents and candidates should not worry about the exams,” Mr Ocen said.
Skills
The new curriculum is the artwork of the Ministry of Education and Sports through the expertise of the National Curriculum Development Centre and aimed at churning out skill-oriented students who will be able to create their own jobs.
Under the new curriculum that came into effect in 2021, schools have been teaching 12 subjects for Senior One and Senior Two, out of which 11 are compulsory with only one being an optional menu for the learners to pick from.
Senior Three and Senior Four have a minimum of eight to nine subjects with seven being compulsory. Unlike the previous years, the
new curriculum method of assessing learner’s performance will be a shared responsibility of both Uneb that shall award marks not more than 80 percent while the other 20 percent will be fed to Uneb by the respective schools, based on the practicals.
Compiled by Simon Peter Emwamu, Damali Mukhaye, Richard Kyanjo, David Awori, Phillip Wafula, Abubaker Kirunda, Tausi Nakato, Denis Edema, Al–Mahdi Ssenkabirwa, Hanifah Nanyanzi, Felix Warom Okello, Robert Elema, Scovin Iceta, Clement Aluma, Bill Oketch, Malik Fahad Jijingo, Longino Muhindo, Robert Muhereza, Julius Hafasha, Ismail Bategeka & Alex Ashaba.
