The 2nd Annual Aga Khan University Education Conference was held in Kampala from October 23 until 25, 2017. The aim of this Conference was to bring together experts in the field to discuss ways to improve, innovate and change the way teaching is conducted in the country.
Experts at the conference noted that there has been a decline in the number of new entrants into the teaching profession. They attribute this to low morale amongst existing teachers and poor remuneration that have made this profession less attractive. Experts also said that the current trend of teaching to pass exams should be replaced with a competency-based curriculum.
During the Conference, State Minister for Higher Education JC Muyingo said, that” the Ministry of Education and Sports has come up with a Teachers’ Policy that will seek to attract individuals with first-class degrees to the teaching profession and improve teachers’ welfare and training.”
Amid the ever-changing teaching environment dynamics, the Diplomatic Representative of AKDN Amin Mawji said, that”the national curriculum must be aligned to present student and teacher needs. He added the need to embrace digital innovation in empowering our teachers to impart quality education to our children.”
The Vice Provost, Prof Kweku Bentil who spoke at the Conference says the era of teaching an 18th-century curriculum to 21st-century learners are no longer acceptable.
Rethinking teacher education was the most prominent theme at this event held at Hotel Africana. And it was underscored during this three-day workshop that while the Ugandan education system previously addressed quantity, it must now focus on providing quality education to all academic institutions.
