Teacher degree policy: Will the big transition bring quality in teaching?

Alex Kakooza, the permanent secretary ministry of Education, recently told a section of teachers, educationists and the public at the Office of the Prime Minister that the implementation of the new National Teachers Policy would be a success. This was during the launch of a report on Comprehensive Evaluation of the Universal Primary Education by the National Planning Authority recently.
“Before a policy is taken to Cabinet, it goes to Ministry of Finance for a certificate of financial implications. So Cabinet is aware that the policy will require a lot of money. Next year, we need about Shs6.7 billion to begin on the implementation,” he assured teachers and educationists.

But the National Teacher Policy approved in April by Cabinet has raised debate among a section of teachers and the public across the country on whether it is sustainable.

Teacher absenteeism, ineffective teaching, low qualifications and standards, weak institutional leadership, unethical behaviour, lack of teacher regulation, and limited professional development remain some of the big challenges affecting the quality of the teaching profession. This is mainly attributed to the under professionalisation of the teaching profession, the policy states in part.

Thus the new policy aims at improving the quality of teachers in Uganda’s education system demanding that they all must have degrees.

A sneak peek into the new policy also indicates that all Grade III Certificates and Grade V Diploma training courses for teachers are phased out. However, those who are already undertaking these courses shall complete their academic programmes within a period of 10 years.

“All teachers shall be university graduates with a Bachelor of Education but specialising in either; pre-primary; primary education, lower secondary or higher secondary education and tertiary education.”

“The 10-year period is provided to ensure that the current students admitted in National Teacher Colleges and Primary Teacher Colleges have adequate time to adjust to the requirements of the National Teacher Policy standards and also ensure that they are not disadvantaged by the policy,” the policy reads in part.

Meanwhile admissions for students after UCE to PTCS is suspended effective 2021. In the same way, all PTCs and NTCs shall be attached to Uganda National Institute of Teacher Education as a degree awarding institution to offer only Bachelor of Education programmes.

Serving and prospective education managers at institutional, local government and national levels have not been spared either as they shall have a maximum grace period of three years within which to acquire a post graduate training in Educational Leadership and Management.

A big transition
However, the question remains, are teachers ready for the big transition?
Job Matua, a teacher at Pope John Paul High School in Nakaseke District, says the new policy is a good move but the government should go slow with the implementation.

“At the moment, a big number of primary school teachers have Grade III certificates. From Grade III, a teacher will need to upgrade to Grade V before degree. This is not a short period. Diploma needs two years and a degree needs a minimum of three years. These teachers will not only be studying but they also have to teach, so when will the teaching be done,” he observes.

Matua cautions that upgrading should be done in a systematic way, gradually and without causing a national crisis.

Optional
Ismail Gidudu, a Grade III teacher and director of Luweero Junior Primary School, says government should encourage but not force teachers to upgrade because that’s a personal decision. However Gidudu argues that whereas a degree adds value to a teacher, it may not necessarily correspond with quality.

“Among the problems we have in this country are people with academic papers who cannot perform. You find a person with a master’s degree but his work does not add up. For the case of head teachers, there is no problem about getting degrees because they are administrators. The new policy needs to be discussed further with teachers to reach an agreement,” he says.

Gidudu questions whether pre-primary school needs degree holders to deliver quality teaching.
Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, a former secondary school teacher and the district chairperson of Gulu, observes that it is not about readiness but the most important thing is to recognise the fact that the world has become competitive.

“There should be no debate about teachers continuing to acquire new skills and knowledge. We need teachers that will prepare our children to fit in this competitive world,” he said.

Funding
A number of people in different career paths upgrade expecting good remuneration on the job. Questions about whether this upgrade will lift teachers from the clutches of poor salaries are being raised.

In 2014, the ministry of Education introduced the scheme of service which provided that for a teacher to head a primary school, they must at least obtain a degree as a minimum of qualification. By 2016, the ministry moved to implement the scheme threatening that primary school head teachers who failed to acquire a degree would be phased out.

A number of head teachers rushed to different institutions of higher learning to acquire the minimum qualification to save their jobs. However, two years later, there remains complaints from a section of head teachers who upgraded saying they have never received any salary increment to correspond with their qualifications.

According to the ministry of Education statistics, to date, at least 347,219 teachers are employed in public and private schools. Government directly employs 266,290 teachers as follows: 184,275 in primary schools and 67,168 in secondary schools as well as 13,870 in tertiary institutions; 750 in Primary Teachers Colleges; and 227 in National Teachers Colleges.

The private sector directly employs 80,929 teachers as follows; 16,741 in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Centres; 62,779 in primary schools; 31,841 in secondary schools; 1120 in post-secondary schools and 289 teachers in non-formal sub-sector.

At the release of the 2018 national PTC exams last year, Janet Museveni, the Minister of Education and Sports, said a total of 11,164 candidates had registered to sit the examinations from 58 PTCs. Of the 58, 46 are government-owned while 12 are private.

The education sector received Shs3.28 trillion this Financial Year, an increment of Shs504b up from Shs2.781 trillion in the 2018/2019 Financial Year. However, half of the budget is meant for the wage bill of Shs1.84 trillion at 56 per cent.

Salary issue
Currently, the salary entry point for a Grade III teacher at primary level stands at Shs490,000 while that of the head teachers stands at Shs930,000.

For secondary school, an arts teacher with a diploma earns Shs745,000 while the counterpart in sciences earns Shs795,000. Degree holders for arts earn Shs960,000 while science teachers with degrees earn Shs1.2 million.

Matua says it is unlikely that government will commit salary increment when teachers have upgraded saying in secondary schools for instance, some diploma holders who started teaching with the same qualification upgraded years ago but they are being paid as diploma holders.

However, one official from the Ministry of Education who spoke on condition of anonymity said it is not a guarantee to get a salary increment when one upgrades their education but about the standard set by the Public Service and the Education Service Commission.

“There is a specific kind of standard in terms of payment that any teacher has to meet. It also has to do with the wage bill. If you went for further studies and acquired new qualifications, what does it take to increase your salary? It has implications on the budget and wage bill. It is not about promoting,” he says.

The question of funding remains a tricky one at the heart of the new policy not only for government but also the teachers.
Ojara says the kind of environment that teachers live in may not give them an opportunity to thrive.

“If teachers are being given two years to upgrade, do they have the capacity to afford the education requirements, do we give them what it takes to further their education and provide for their families as well,” he notes.

He advises that the ministry should not close the door completely but give an environment where there’s progressive professional growth. “Those who opt to join teacher training after Senior
Four have their reasons. Sometimes we need to be considerate. We should be able to build a mechanism that allows teachers who started from humble beginnings to grow,” he explains.

Requirements
Joseph Muvawala, the executive director at the National Planning Authority, warns the ministry of Education on the new policy indicating it will need a lot of funding. He warns that this would require extra financing of approximately Shs41.6 billion in short term.

He suggests that given that Uganda primary teacher trainees enter PTCs after few years of formal education, there is need to raise minimum academic entry requirements into PTCs to A-Level and increase the teacher training period to three years for pre-service trainees.

Rather than climbing the hill vertically, Muvawala also suggests that progressively, the education sector will aim at the degree as minimum qualification for any teacher. This is on the realisation that teachers must be as skilled just as those that teach at high levels of learning.

He adds that there is evidence that currently Uganda’s primary teacher training system is projected to supply primary school teachers in excess of the projected annual demand for primary.

Muvawala recommends that the ministry should halt any establishment and licensing and rationalise the existence of the current 45 public PTCs, especially in circumstances where a lesser number would well satisfy the current and future demand for primary school teachers.

“The question remains, do we have resources to put PTCs in a better state to award degrees. If you are telling teachers to go and upgrade, that means you are telling them to go and use their meagre income. Will government fund their education? If not, there will be a problem,” Matua sums up.

Current salary scales
The education sector received Shs3.28 trillion this Financial Year, an increment of Shs504b up from Shs2.781 trillion in the 2018/2019 Financial Year. However, half of the budget is meant for the wage bill of Shs1.84 trillion at 56 per cent.

Currently, the salary entry point for a Grade III teacher at primary level stands at Shs490,000 while that of the head teachers stands at Shs930,000.

For secondary school, an arts teacher with a diploma earns Shs745,000 while the counterpart in science earns Shs795,000. Degree holders for arts earn Shs960,000 while science teachers with degrees earn Shs1.2 million.

The numbers
According to the ministry of Education statistics, to date, at least 347,219 teachers are employed in public and private schools. Government directly employs 266,290 teachers as follows: 184,275 in primary schools and 67,168 in secondary schools as well as 13,870 in tertiary institutions; 750 in Primary Teachers Colleges; and 227 in National Teachers Colleges.

The private sector directly employs 80,929 teachers as follows; 16,741 in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Centres; 62,779 in primary schools; 31,841 in secondary schools; 1120 in post-secondary schools and 289 teachers in non-formal sub-sector.

At the release of the 2018 national PTC exams last year, Janet Museveni, the Minister of Education and Sports, said a total of 11,164 candidates had registered to sit the examinations from 58 PTCs. Of the 58, 46 are government-owned while 12 are private.