Since 2014, the ministry of Education and Sports has acknowledged the need to refresh and improve the school curriculum around the country.
In doing so, it was acknowledged that the vast part of the school curriculum across all levels of learning had remained unchanged since at least 1967. Thus, the emphasis on certain aspects of learning needed to change, in line with current changes.
There was an acknowledgement that the world is changing, and as learning opportunities open up the vast world for all learners, it was critically needed for them to be able to communicate in other languages, other than English and a few foreign languages like Kiswahili, French and German.
The future belongs to those who are able to build networks across various country boundaries, over time. Students, who obtain scholarships or business/work opportunities overseas, are wont to have appreciated the cultures and languages there.
The first efforts to implement the new curriculum came in 2020, when the minister for Education, Janet Kataaha Museveni ordered that the start of new syllabus in lower secondary school, in whatever format it was in.
The ministry was first to acknowledge that there would be numerous problems in the implementation, including a shortage of teaching content and poorly trained teachers, to ensure learning happened.
With all these challenges, most people’s fears did not come to pass. A recently released report by the Uganda National Examinations Board showed that most students and teachers had welcomed the new curriculum. However, they noted to the need for increased improvement to the curriculum.
There is a need for the improving curriculum to look more at teaching various languages to learners, to enable them interact better with foreign and local cultures at an early age.
The importance of knowing several languages cannot be overstepped. knowing several languages expands one’s career options, sharpens brain function, deepens cultural empathy, and makes travel easier.
Multilingual people build stronger global connections, solve problems faster, and enjoy long-term mental health benefits. The time has come to expand on the menu of languages taught all the way to university.