VOCATIONALISATION OF SECONDARY EDUCATION IN UGANDA

Cleophus Mugenyi, Ph.D,

Ministry of Education and Sports Uganda -January 2023

1. 0 Primary Education
Uganda’s education system was inherited from the British
colonialists at independence in 1962. Primary education covers
seven years with P1 to P3 (lower primary) and P4 to P4 (upper
primary) and both continuous and summative assessment are
used to assess the learner’s competence throughout the learning
cycle. The government of Uganda introduced universal primary
education (UPE) policy in 1997 to improve access, equity and
quality of primary education. According to NPA (2018) the
objectives of the UPE Policy are: (i) To provide facilities and
resources to enable every child to enter school; (ii) To ensure the
completion of the primary cycle of education; (iii) To make
education equitable in order to eliminate disparities and
inequalities; (iv) To ensure that education is affordable by the
majority of Ugandans; and (v) To reduce poverty by equipping every
individual with basic skills.
The primary education curriculum is divided into three parts. The
thematic curriculum (P 1 to P3), the transition curriculum (P4) and

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the subject based curriculum (P5 – P7). According to NPA (2018)
the Thematic Curriculum has the following key features: (a). The
use of themes that interest children; (b). The adoption of the class-
teacher-system; (c). Use of non-text book materials; (d). The use of
Local Language/language commonly used by the community as a
medium of instruction; and, (e). The use of continuous assessment
of learners’ achievement. The transition curriculum focuses on the
gradual transition from the local language to English as a medium
of instruction. This doesn’t mean English is introduced at this level
but rather using it in teaching all subjects. English is taught as a
subject from P1 to P3 under the thematic curriculum. The
transition curriculum underscores rearranging content, concepts
and skills rather than introducing new content or concepts (NPA,
2018).
The subject based curriculum has the following subjects:
Mathematics, English, Local Languages, Kiswahili, Social Studies,
Integrated Science, Religious Education, Creative Arts and Physical
Education (CAPE). CAPE has three learning areas namely: CAPE I
(Music Dance and Drama), CAPE 2 (Physical Education), CAPE 3
(Art and Technology). All these subjects are expected by the end
of the seven-year course to equip learners with basic skills to
facilitate individual development as well as transition to

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secondary education and vocational institutions. It is important to
note that after primary education some learners are admitted to
polytechnics to pursue TVET opportunities such as tailoring,
carpentry, brick laying and concrete practice, electrical and
mechanical engineering, and agriculture.
At the end of the primary seven, learners are subjected to Primary
leaving Examinations (PLE) set by the Uganda National
Examinations Board (UNEB) and graded according to their
performance. Only learners who pass in grade one to four with
aggregates 4 to 28 are admitted to secondary education. The
complete rate of primary education is about 80% and this trend
continues to go down with less than 30% reaching university level.
The primary education curriculum offers the foundation for
vocationalization of secondary education in that learners are
exposed to practical teaching and learning at an early age. For
example, the government of Uganda is distributing min science
labs (science kits) to primary schools to promote practical
teaching of science.
2. 0 Secondary Education
2.1 Background
Secondary education in Uganda is four years (Senor One to Senior
Four). According to the 1992 Government White Paper one

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ducation (GoU, 1992), the aims of secondary education in Uganda
are to:
(i) Instil and promote national unity, an understanding of the social
and civic responsibilities, strong love and care for others and
respect for public property, as well as an appreciation of
international relations and beneficial international co-operation;
(ii) Promote an appreciation and understanding of the cultural
heritage of Uganda including its languages;
(iii) Impart and promote a sense of self discipline, ethical and
spiritual values, personal and collective responsibility and initiative;
(iv) Enable individuals to acquire and develop knowledge and an
understanding of emerging needs of society and the economy;
(v) Provide up-date and comprehensive knowledge in theoretical
and practical aspects of innovative production, modern
management methods in the field of commerce and industry and
their application in the context of socioeconomic development of
Uganda;
(vi) Enable individuals to develop basic scientific, technological,
technical, agricultural and commercial skills required for self-
employment;
(vii) Enable individuals to develop personal skills of problem
solving, information gathering and interpretation, independent

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reading and writing, self-improvement through learning and
development of social, physical and leadership skills such as are
obtained through games, sports, societies and clubs;
(viii) Lay the foundation for further education;
(ix) Enable the individual to apply acquired skills in solving
problems of community, and to develop a strong sense of
constructive and beneficial belonging to that community;
(x) Instil positive attitudes towards productive work and strong
respect for the dignity of labour and those who engage in
productive labour activities; and
(xi) Develop a positive attitude towards learning as a lifelong

Learners join secondary after passing the PLE with aggregate four
to 28 and study for four years (senior one (S1) to Senior 4 (S4)).
Learners sit for the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) at the
end of S4 in 10 subjects. Eight out of the 10 subjects are
compulsory and the two are optional. This curriculum was mainly
academic with limited focus on competence
The Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Education and
Sports and National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC)
undertook reform of the lower secondary curriculum in 2017 aimed
at providing a conducive learning environment, opportunities, tasks

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and instruction that enhance deeper learning by putting the learner
at the centre of the teaching learning experience (NCDC, 2020).
The review was completed in 2020, and the revised lower
secondary school curriculum was rolled starting with senior one in
2021. The new curriculum emphasizes knowledge, application and
behavioural change; and focuses on four “key learning outcomes”
of: (a) self-assured individuals; (b) responsible and patriotic
citizens; (c) lifelong learners; and (d) positive contributors to
society.

In order to enhance skilling Ugandans through teaching and

learning the following areas have been prioritized in the budget of
FY2023/24: develop and implement a programme that links
primary and secondary schools to science intensive universities
and hubs; conduct careers guidance to primary and secondary
students to interest them in pursuing STEM/STEI careers;
undertake innovative science fairs to showcase application of
science in real life ; rebrand TVET to attract youths through
community engagements and media campaigns for
communicating returns to TVET education; undertake labour
market research & employment diagnostic studies; construct new
secondary schools in sub counties without; and equip and

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rehabilitate and expand 60 TVET Institutions by 2025 to increase
enrolment capacity of TVET institute amongst others
2.2 Subjects in the Curriculum
In order to promote vocationalization of secondary education, the
new curriculum is competence based. It focusses on values and
generic skills that a learner must acquire at the end of the
secondary education cycle.
The compulsory subjects at S1 & 2 are; English, Entrepreneurship,
Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics (or General Science for
learners with special educational needs), Geography, History,
Kiswahili, Physical Education, ICT, Religious Education, and
Agriculture.
At S3 and S4 there is a greater focus on a narrower range, with
seven compulsory subjects which are: Mathematics, English,
Chemistry, Biology, Physics, (General Science), Geography and
History & Political Education and a maximum of three elective
subjects. At S3 and S4, emphasis should be placed on integrating
ICT in all subjects so that learners fit the learner graduate profile at
the end of the cycle.
It should be noted that eight practical (pre-vocational) elective
subjects in S3 and S4 will specifically prepare learners to join the
world of work and gainful employment in Uganda, and will enable

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learners to gain a vocational qualification. The eight subjects
include Fine Art; Performing Arts (Music, Dance, and Drama);
Technology and Design; Nutrition and Food Technology;
Information Communication Technology; Entrepreneurship; and
Agriculture.
2.3 Timetable
Adequate time has been allocated to learners to undertake
practicals to enhance their skills and competence levels for the
practical subjects (Table 1)
Table 1. Timetable.
Subject Number of periods
S1 to S2 S3 to S4
English 4 5
Maths 4 5
History & Political Education 3 3
Geography 3 3
Physics 3 4
Biology 3 4
Chemistry 3 4
General Science 6 6
Physical Education 2
Religious Education 2
Agriculture 2
Kiswahili 2
ICT 2
Entrepreneurship 2 2
Elective 1 2 3 or 4 if
practical
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Elective 2 2 3 or 4 if
practical
Elective 3 0 3
School program 1 1
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The timetable for elective subjects varies as shown in Table 2

Table 2: Time table for elective subjects
TIME ALLOCATIONS FOR S3-4 ELECTIVE SUBJECTS
Practical (4 periods) Languages Religious
(3 periods) Education
(3 periods)
Technology and Design Foreign Christian Religious
Languages Education
Nutrition and Food Local Languages Islamic Religious
Technology Education
Fine Arts Literature in
English
Performing Arts Kiswahili
Physical Education
Agriculture 4
Entrepreneurship
ICT

2.4 Challenges of vocationalisation of secondary education

Most research studies conducted in Uganda indicate that
vocationalisation of secondary education is yet to be realized due
to the following factors: inadequate training equipment lack of
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tool/startup kits, inadequate trained personnel, insufficient time
allocated to training; and negative attitude (Katya, 2010, NPA,
2018,). To address these and other challenges associated with
vocational and technical education, the MoES is investing more
resources in improving school infrastructure, facilities and human
resources. It also developed the technical, vocational education
and training (TVET) policy. The major goal of the TVET policy is to
support the creation of needed employable skills and
competencies relevant for the national transformational labour
market as opposed to just acquisition of educational certificates.
It targets all Ugandans in need of skills for employment and
provides for the establishment of a TVET Council, TVET
Institutions and Providers and operationalization of the Skills
Development Fund. The main objectives of the policy include to :
(a)Promote economic relevance of TVET; (b) Improve equitable
access to TVET and employability of TVET graduates; (c) Improve
quality of TVET; (d) Promote sustainable TVET financing; and (e)
Ensure effectiveness in TVET management and organization
(MoES, 2019)

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2.5Assessment of learners
The revised lower secondary curriculum has changed the
assessment from being academic to competence based hence
reducing rote learning, cram work and examination malpractices.
According to NCDC (2020) the eight practical (pre-vocational)
elective subjects in S3&4 (Table 2) will specifically prepare learners
to join the world of work to acquire a vocational qualification for
gainful employment in Uganda. Learners of these subjects will be
trained and assessed to the standard set by Directorate of
Industrial Training (DIT). This kind of training and assessment
focuses on ensuring that learners comply with the requirements of
the world of work or employment in a specific occupation. The
assessment leads to an award of a work pass at Level 1 in the
Uganda Vocational Qualification Framework (UVQF) as being
successful in performance and written theory assessment. More
details of this are found in the Assessment and Training Packages
(ATPs) developed by DIT for the different occupations.

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References
Government of Uganda (1992) Government White Paper on
Education. Entebbe: UPPC.

Katya, D. (2010) The Transition from Secondary to Vocational

Education. Deutschland: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing

MoES (2019) The Technical Vocational Education and Training

(TVET) Policy: Kampala: MoES

National Curriculum Development Centre (2020) Lower Secondary

Curriculum. Kampala: NCDC.

National Planning Authority (2018) Comprehensive Evaluation of

the Universal Primary Education (UPE) Policy. Kampala: NPA

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