By Vanessa Kyalimpa
The new reforms brought in by the government under the 2019 Teacher Policy state that all teachers must be degree holders by 2030, or they may be forced out of the teaching profession.
While this may be achievable for some teachers, there’s no doubt that so many others are struggling to meet these demands due to financial restraints.
Paul Walubo, the education officer working with Edify, said that they have partnered with Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono to do capacity building for teachers and school owners “in the areas of improving school leadership and administration.”
This has been done in different ways, including a 3-day training seminar running from January 23 to 25, happening in Nkoyoyo Hall at UCU under the theme “Enhancing Administrative and Academic Leadership in Schools.”
“We are providing 12 modules during this training, and we hope that it will provide a foundation for the school leaders and teachers to improve the way they manage their schools,” said Walubo.
Walubo also expressed gratitude to UCU for working with Edify to contextualize the material and learning conditions that promote the welfare of beneficiaries.
“UCU offers the best services and tailor-made courses that could help teachers upgrade within three years, and the UCU tuition restructure for the teachers helps them acquire these qualifications easier,” Walubo added.
The dean of the UCU School of Education, Mary Kagoire, said that this partnership also provides teachers with the option to pursue a Higher Education Certificate (HEC), which only takes a year to acquire instead of a 2-year diploma.
Kamogoli Godfrey, headteacher of Maggwa Church of Uganda Primary School in Mukono, said that Edify has facilitated schools with modern literacy teaching using digital ways.
“UCU is known to be very expensive and yet excellent in the services offered; however, I am very grateful to UCU for reducing our tuition to only UGX 800,000 per semester for the education sector; this is actually an opportunity that teachers who want to upgrade should not miss,” said Kamogoli.
Edify Uganda is a non-profit organization that works alongside the Christian school owners’ association to support Christian-founded schools and the capacity of teachers.