Minister’s call for skilling of students good but...

The question of the need to skill students is back in the news. This time round, it comes as an appeal by Ms Rosemary Seninde, the State minister for Primary Education, to teachers, who she urged to equip students with business skills, away from the formal education, in order to earn a better living in future.

Indeed, there is no doubt that teaching students skills early enough will go a long way in nurturing the next generation and graduates not to seek white collar jobs, but become job creators complete with innovations and burning with desire and prospect for invention. In fact, countries such as Japan, China, and Singapore, among others, attained developed nations status on the basis of the profound skills of their citizenry.
Therefore, at a time when Uganda is yearning to attain a middle income status by 2020 or thereafter, the minister’s call for skilling of students, is a move in the right direction.

However, it is important that we walk the talk on skilling pupils. This is crucial considering that Minister Seninde said “Teach children right from primary and secondary levels. Skilling is already in the curriculum but it is just not being implemented yet children are supposed to be developed fully.”
In schools that offer Agriculture, students are taken to school gardens or farms to learn some farming practices during their agriculture lesson. This is noble given that agriculture is the backbone of Uganda’s economy. Inevitably, they learn something there which can help them in future.

The other activity that many schools have abandoned is handicraft lessons. In the past, class time tables had periods for handicrafts too. Pupils would use that period for handiwork activities including weaving mats, baskets, designing simple chairs, and making boxes, among others.
Still, these are few and far apart to make the requisite impact on students in particular and the country in general. Even then, it is not enough for any government official, let alone an Education minister, to casually urge teachers to impart skills to their students.

First of all, even without the component of skills teaching, teachers have been up and down the streets trying to make ends meet. We have frequently seen teachers laying down their tools due to poor remuneration, lack of accommodation and poor working condition. Such teachers may not have the motivation and means to impart skills to their students.
Besides, many schools lack adequate resources – equipment, structures, space, etc. Let the ministry first put its act together if we are to achieve effective skilling of students.