In partnership with the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) and the Mastercard Foundation, STiR Education hosted a conference today at the Serena Hotel in Kampala to commemorate the end of our joint project. STiR has been implementing a project entitled ‘Building a Teacher Changemaker Movement to Address Uganda’s Learning Crisis in Secondary Schools in Uganda’ in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation since 2015. Having started with 907 teachers in our first year, the project ultimately reached 15,184 secondary teachers across 32 districts and 8 municipalities.
The purpose of the conference was to share our experiences in implementing this programme, including our learning and challenges, with other stakeholders in our sector including government officials, academics and representatives from other civil society organisations. We were very grateful to be joined by senior officials from the Ministry of Education and Sports (across the Government Secondary, Private Schools, Basic Education, Teacher Educator and Training and Development departments); District, City and Municipal Education Officers; and headteachers, teachers and students from across our districts.
Our guest of honour was the State Minister for Primary Education, Hon. Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu, who was representing the State Minister for Higher Education. She said: “With the roll-out of the new lower secondary curriculum, teachers who have been part of this programme will find it easier to embrace and implement it. This will help in the uptake of this policy in the districts.”
Other organisations represented at the conference included the Directorate of Education Standards (DES), the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), the Education Service Commission (ESC), Uganda National Institute of Teacher Education (UNITE), Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU), the Federation of Non-State Education Institutions (FENEI), Uganda National Inspectors’ Association (UNIA), the Association of Secondary School Headteachers in Uganda (ASSHU) and media and civil society organisations.
Some of the key highlights from the conference were around the importance of teacher motivation for successful education systems. It was noted that teacher motivation is a collective responsibility of every stakeholder in the education system. In particular, it was recognised that intrinsic motivation is essential for sustainable improvement, although other factors also make an important contribution. Programme partners shared their experiences about how the programme has contributed to improvements in the quality of teaching and learning through improved classroom practices and stronger relationships at all levels of the education system.
STiR Country Director Modern Musiimenta Karema said: “We believe that education stakeholders can best make a sustainable contribution to the purpose of education if they have internal drive and love what they do. We therefore work towards bringing this cultural change into the education system in Uganda. Although this project with the Mastercard Foundation has now concluded, STiR’s work in secondary schools in Uganda continues to grow. This year, in partnership with ASSHU, we are reaching an additional 46 districts and 26 municipalities.”
Rita Laura Lulua, Education and Skills Lead at the Mastercard Foundation, added: “Teachers are the backbone of quality education. Their role in shaping mindsets, academic performances and career development is paramount.”
Here are a few other quotes from stakeholders:
Mr. Okiria Martin Obore, National Chairperson of ASSHU, said: “This programme revived what was becoming extinct: classroom observation and teacher professional conduct. It also brought District Education Officers and District Inspectors of Schools closer to the secondary space, which was not the case before.”
Dr. Kedrace Turyagyenda, Director of DES, shared that: “The work STiR is doing is our work, to make sure that every learner learns effectively.”
Mr. Kyaka Alfred, Assistant Commissioner for Government Secondary Education at the MoES, noted: “I thank STiR Education for choosing to intervene in a very critical sector to improve the quality of education. Let us roll out the programme in all secondary schools.”
Finally, Mr. Filbert Baguma, Secretary General of UNATU, added: “Such programmes need to be sustained so that the teachers can keep on improving while new innovations and interventions come in.”