Teaching isn’t about having degree

What you need to know:

  • Today, the country has many universities, some of which do not pass the test of being universities. Many of the developed countries support education institutions like polytechnics and teacher training facilities premised on the tested works of these centres.

The university degree syndrome in Uganda threatens to tear the education fabric of the country apart. Uganda has taken up a deliberate and rather costly venture of universitilisation of nearly every tertiary institute of education. Sections of the public believe that it is only a university degree that can secure one a bright future.

I was surprised when I learnt of a Cabinet resolution demanding that teachers should be degree holders. Teaching is a versatile field that at all times requires the correct identification of indices of development in society. This responsibility makes it imperative that teachers should be critical embodiment of a constant search for updated information in various fields of life. The pertinent question is, what should constitute a significant portion of a teacher’s training programme? Is it the knowledge of what to teach or how to teach?

Technocrats in the Ministry of Education and the government who are pushing for teachers to have university degree as a symbol of academic achievement and success, should be abreast with the fact that gone are the days where all that was required of a teacher was knowledge of subject matter. It is becoming more apparent in the 21st Century where rapid technological development implies that knowledge is no longer a one-time life experience for only individuals at university.

Teacher training is an asset, which requires constant updates and does not have to end with a university degree. Therefore, a teacher should be equipped with an acceptable standard of general knowledge of which ICT is paramount. This can be done behind anywhere and not necessarily a university. It is common knowledge that improving teacher education programmes is a worldwide concern with special focus on developing countries. This is the case because no education can ever rise above the quality of its teachers.

Uganda has many teacher training colleges across the country. In the past, these colleges were well managed and facilitated, the reason many students sought admission in the institutions. But what is the condition of the colleges today? The wrong perception that a university degree is what matters in life, is what has partly contributed to the collapse of many teacher training colleges in Uganda. We had Institute of Teacher Education Kyambogo (ITEK), which produced well trained teachers. The country lost this facility when it was merged with Uganda Polytechnic Kyambogo (UPK) to form Kyambogo University

Today, the country has many universities, some of which do not pass the test of being universities. Many of the developed countries support education institutions like polytechnics and teacher training facilities premised on the tested works of these centres. It is extremely sad that the country’s education system is dropping in the abyss because of universitification of the education system.

Percy Mulamba,
Teacher by profession