Uganda: Don ’t rush policy on teaching in vernacular

[Harold Schiffman]

Don't rush policy on teaching in vernacular
Thursday, 28th February, 2008

Deo Agaba

TEACHING in local languages in primary schools has become a
contentious issue. The education ministry carried out a pilot study in
several parts of the country before it introduced the new system of
teaching referred to as the thematic curriculum. The curriculum, to be
taught in local languages or a child's mother tongue, is compulsory
for rural schools. The mother tongue reform required prior
arrangements like training teachers in local languages and encouraging
authors and publishers to focus on literature in local languages. A
number of teachers are disgruntled about the lack of local language
skills, instructional materials and have not received basic training
in local language proficiency. These challenges ought to have been
considered before the reform was implemented. We could destroy our
cultures by teaching in languages without a proper rules or clear
standards.

Parents are, however, mixing up the two reforms (thematic curriculum
and teaching in local languages), while others are totally ignorant of
both. I was enlightened about the issue by the developers of the
curriculum at the National Curriculum Development Centre. The
education ministry piloted the thematic curriculum in selected
districts and the results were positive, prompting the rollout of the
reform to all schools. The reform is now at P1 and P2 class levels.
The pilot schools are at P3 because they started a year earlier.
The policy of teaching in local languages needed more time to assess
how it should be implemented to cater for multi-lingual and
cross-cultural societies. The reforms are essential in transforming
our education system at the lower levels. They make it easy for
infants to understand concepts as the baseline research findings
suggest.

The ministry should, however, consider carrying out mass sensitisation
about the reforms and design strategies that will make the policy of
teaching in local languages effective.
The information from the pilot study should be shared with the public
so that people support or criticise the reforms from an informed
position.

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/614155

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