Following the release of the Amanya Mushega-led Education Policy Review Commission (EPRC) Report in February 2025, Uganda’s Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, hailed the recommendations as “game-changing”. The report, commissioned in 2021, proposes key reforms in education governance, language policy, vocational training, and assessment methods. However, while the recommendations aim to modernise Uganda’s education system, they fail to break away from its colonial structure.
Like the Senteza Kajubi Report (1992) before it, the Mushega Report adjusts the system without transforming its foundation. The question remains: Is Uganda simply reforming an outdated model, or does it need a revolutionary rethinking of education?
What Does the Mushega Report Aim to Change?
The Mushega Report was tasked with reviewing Uganda’s education system to align it with contemporary global and national needs. Key recommendations include:
●Renaming and restructuring the Ministry of Education to expand its role in training and technical education.
●Abolishing UNEB and centralising educational oversight under the new National Education Standards & Quality Assurance (NESQA) body.
●Introducing local language instruction up to P4, before transitioning to English.
●Expanding vocational training (TVET) and abolishing PLE, replacing it with continuous assessment.
●Making nursery education compulsory and government-funded.
●Tying school feeding programmes to local agricultural production under the Parish Development Model (PDM).
At first glance, these reforms seem promising. However, they fail to address a fundamental issue: Uganda’s education system remains Western in its structure, philosophy, and priorities.
So, when Janet Museveni calls the Mushega Report “game-changing”, one must ask.
What game are we changing? And who set the rules in the first place?
The reality is that Uganda is still playing by colonial education rules, adjusting policies without questioning whether the system itself serves the country’s long-term interests.
A Missed Opportunity? Lessons from the Senteza Kajubi Report (1992)
Uganda has attempted education reform before. The Senteza Kajubi Report (1989-1992) led to:
●Universal Primary Education (UPE), later implemented in 1997.
●Decentralised school management to increase local control.
●A greater emphasis on vocational education.
●Recognition of Kiswahili as Uganda’s second official language.
While these changes were intended to improve access and relevance, they did not transform the colonial framework of education. Thirty years later, Uganda’s education system remains detached from African realities. The Mushega Report, instead of challenging this structure, largely repeats the reformist cycle.
Why Reform is Not Enough: The Case for an Education Revolution
Uganda’s education system is built on a colonial model designed to produce clerks and administrators, not innovators and self-sufficient entrepreneurs. If education is to serve Uganda’s development, a radical shift is needed.
1. Decolonising the Curriculum
History classes should prioritise African pre-colonial governance systems, indigenous knowledge, and scientific contributions.
African students should study great thinkers like Cheikh Anta Diop, Wangari Maathai, and Amílcar Cabral alongside global scholars.
2. Prioritising African Languages in Education
The Mushega Report maintains English as the primary medium of instruction after P4. This is where Asia has succeeded and Africa has failed. Countries like:
●China teaches in Mandarin, embedding Confucian philosophy into governance.
●Japan blends technology with traditional craftsmanship, ensuring indigenous skills are preserved.
●South Korea abandoned its colonial education system and built a knowledge economy rooted in its language and culture.
If Uganda truly seeks self-reliance, education must be rooted in indigenous languages.
3.Shifting from Academics to Economic Self-Reliance
Schools should integrate agriculture, renewable energy, and indigenous technology into the curriculum.
Apprenticeship models should replace rigid, exam-focused learning.
Instead of training students for jobs that do not exist, schools should equip them to create their own livelihoods.
4. Ending Dependence on Foreign Funding and Influence
Uganda should allocate at least 25% of its national budget to education, as recommended by UNESCO.
Pan-African university networks should reduce reliance on Western education models.
Why “Game-Changing” is Not Enough
Janet Museveni’s claim that the Mushega Report is “game-changing” assumes that Uganda is simply fixing a broken system. But what if the system itself was never designed to work for us?
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Success!
Almost finished…
We need to confirm your email address.
To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.
Error!
There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.
A truly revolutionary education system would:
●Prioritise African knowledge and languages.
●Break away from colonial models of learning.
●Build economic self-sufficiency instead of dependency.
The Mushega Report does none of this. Instead, it keeps Uganda in the same colonial framework, only with slight modifications.
Conclusion: The Time for Revolution is Now
The Mushega and Senteza Kajubi Reports sought reform, but Uganda needs more than reform–it needs an education revolution. The system is not broken–it was simply never designed for African empowerment.
Instead of another policy update, Uganda must create a new education contract, one that:
●Places African languages at the core of learning.
●Teaches history, science, and philosophy through an African lens.
●Builds an economy based on self-reliance, not foreign aid.
Uganda has spent decades adjusting a colonial model that was never ours to begin with. It is time to stop patching it up and build our own system from the ground up.
Reform will not save us. Only a revolution will.
ADVERTISEMENT
Source link : https://allafrica.com/stories/202502100301.html
Author :
Publish date : 2025-02-10 11:17:55
