Abridged A-Level curriculum to be ready in February 2025– govt
An invigilator checks students at Lakeside College Luzira before sitting for their first paper of Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) on April 12, 2021. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- Dr Denis Mugimba, the spokesperson of the Education Ministry, said the abridged curriculum for A-Level will be ready by the time the Senior Four leavers join the next level.
The government has allayed fears of educationists, parents and learners who were doubting its readiness to roll out the abridged curriculum for A-Level in 2025.
In November last year, the government dropped the idea of a new proposed A-Level curriculum it started developing two years ago and opted for a stop-gap measure to review all A-Level subjects to create an abridged curriculum for the S5 entrants early this year.
Although the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) had two years from 2022 to 2024 to finalise the update of the A-Level curriculum before the current O-Level vacationists join the Senior Five class, it has not been delivered.
Dr Denis Mugimba, the spokesperson of the Education Ministry, said the abridged curriculum for A-Level will be ready by the time the Senior Four leavers join the next level.
“We shall be set by February with the abridged curriculum and no one should get worried as our team is now winding up. We’re not overhauling the curriculum as earlier planned, but rather removing duplications, overlaps and reducing content overload from the existing curriculum,” he said in an interview with this newspaper at the weekend.
There will also be no new textbooks or developing new content as was the case with the Lower Secondary Curriculum rolled out in 2020, Dr Mugimba noted.
He further explained that the ongoing changes being effected by NCDC aim at making A-Level learning competence based to become well aligned with the new Lower Secondary Curriculum, which focuses on the same.
“Another major point in the review is the methodologies used by teachers during content delivery. The subjects and the selection of the combination have remained as they have been, so we believe that it will relieve teachers of outdated content and make higher secondary learning more focused,” he said.
However, Mr Hasadu Kirabira, the chairperson of the National Private Education Institution Association (NPEIA), faulted the ministry for delaying sharing the changes with stakeholders, saying the government had learnt nothing from the hurdles faced in introducing the new Lower Secondary Curriculum.
“At least by January 1, 2025, the curriculum would be out and the ministry should be preparing implementers through workshops, sensitisation of teachers and other stakeholders would be going on by now, but even at this stage as an association we’re not yet briefed, we’re wondering how is this going to be implemented!” he said.
On the issue of time, which appears insufficient for teachers’ orientation, Dr Mugimba said there will be no serious need for that because the content has not changed yet most of the teachers are also teaching in O-Level classes
“So, they [teachers] can easily adopt the revised curriculum. We’re not printing new curriculum or bringing in new subjects as was the case with Lower Secondary Curriculum,” he added.
Ms Harriet Akello, a science teacher at Lwankoni Secondary School in Kyotera District, is excited about the condensed curriculum, saying it will cut off the unnecessary overloads for both teachers and learners.
“The content has been too much during the two years and I believe that is the main issue this programme is addressing, I am sure students will benefit more if it is properly implemented,” Ms Akello said.
But Ms Akello asked the government not to ignore the aspect of retooling teachers.
The process of overhauling the A-Level curriculum is still ongoing according to Dr Mugimba, and “it will be ready for implementation by 2028”.
Why Proposal
The proposed new A-Level Curriculum is intended to enable students to complete A-Level education over two or five years. This flexibility aimed to support students who might need additional time, accommodating diverse learning paces and reducing dropout rates.
Proposed curriculum changes include the introduction of a modular assessment approach, allowing students to retake only the subjects they failed in the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education exams instead of retaking the entire exams.
