NCHE tells universities to review curriculum

Institutions of higher learning have been asked to review their curricula and refocus their programmes on skills that are relevant in the fourth industrial revolution.

Prof Mary Okwakol, the executive director of the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), cited science, technology, engineering and mathematics as some of the most sought-after fourth industrial revolution (4IR) skills with high employment prospects.

She gave her remarks yesterday during their second higher education conference at Hotel Africana in Kampala under the theme ‘Higher Education and Private Sector Engagement; Preparing Uganda’s Human Capital for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.’

“We can longer ignore how technology is impacting the way we live, work and conduct business. The fourth industrial revolution technologies such as internet of things, robotics, virtual reality and artificial intelligence are changing the way we live and work,” Prof Okwakol said.

“Such technologies are integrated in all aspects of life such as health, agriculture, education and engineering. The public needs to embrace these changes and adequately prepare the human capital for the fourth industrial revolution,” she added.

Prof Eli Katunguka, the NCHE chairperson, noted that although a number of institutions of higher learning are coming up, they are still not enough to meet the growing demand.

He added that the Council is concerned about the quality of education being offered in institutions of higher learning and asked the stakeholders to urgently review their curricula to meet society’s fast changing demands.

“There are many issues, which call for us to review the curriculum that we are offering in these institutions to be able to offer the necessary skills and produce the necessary graduates for the job market,” Prof Katunguka, who is also Kyambogo University vice chancellor, said.
He added:

“There are also issues about quality of staff. They may have the curriculum but who is doing the teaching? We are also concerned about the learning environment. We urge the higher education institutions to do more to create a better learning environment.”

The State minister for Higher Education, Dr Chrysostom Muyingo, said institutions of higher learning are avenues of social and economic development and appealed to them to focus on research and knowledge development.

Dr Muyingo explained that the revised lower secondary curriculum government implemented last month is supposed to address some of the issues.

“I want to encourage all our institutions to prioritise funding research and partnerships that will facilitate sharing of knowledge,” Dr Muyingo said.

He said government is revising the White Paper and will soon present their proposals to Cabinet which will see some of the changes in technology advancement taken care of.

Mr Vincent Bagiire, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of ICT, said they are integrating public systems for easy access to information but asked government to make policies to guide and protect the innovations.

He warned that most technology jobs have ended up in the hands of foreigners because there has not been enough investment to develop local capacity.

According to Mr Bagiire, the taskforce looking at how prepared the country is for the fourth industrial revolution will give their feedback in June which will inform policy formulation that will guide the market changes.

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