Apply healing knife to our education system

Last week, the curtain was brought down on the 74th graduation ceremony of Makerere University, with 12,913 people received degrees and diplomas. The ceremony came a few days after some experts called for the scrapping of the Uganda National Examinations Board-organised national examinations and the disbandment of boarding schools.

Some of these proposals appear outlandish, but they are testimony that there are people out there who are concerned over what has befallen our education.

The apprehension on some of the faces of those who graduated told part of the story. Many stand no chance of getting a job. The economy is not generating enough of jobs. Youth employment is inching into double digit figures having stood at 5.45 percent rising to 5.57 percent in 2019.

We may not be realising it, but university education is not only under threat, it is on trial. The very idea of acquiring a university degree that will not open doors or lead one into gainful employment is increasingly under the microscope as statistics of unemployed university graduates soar.

First of all, universities in Uganda have for some time now been accused of churning out graduates with excellent grades, but no skills sets for the jobs. Little wonder that employers are reluctant to take them on. We must do something and do so real fast.

We should latch onto the calls for an education review and apply a healing knife to an education system that has become cancerous. That calls for benchmarking and borrowing from countries which do not place as much emphasis on passing standardised tests in the same way we do.

Our target should be on putting in place a system that will give children a holistic education. It should give as much importance to development of the student’s character, values and social and vocational skills as it does to academic excellence. The curricula should encourage critical thinking, creativity, problem solving and equipping young people with an array of skills.

It must be a system that emphasises inclusive and equal access to education; quality and professionalism among our teachers; concentration on core subjects like science, mathematics and languages as blocks on which future careers will be built; discipline and a strong work ethic among students; cultivation of a culture of continuous improvement.

It must be a system that is tailored to produce students that are not only knowledgeable and competent, but also balanced and of high moral standards. The timing has never been riper.