The agenda aims to align with existing national ICT policies and regulatory frameworks to improve teaching and learning outcomes through digitally enhanced curricula.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, the education sector suffered unprecedented challenges. Schools were closed and learners were forced to stay at home for nearly two years. According to the Education minister, Janet Museveni, the disruption in learning had a profound impact on learners and the negative effects on the entire sector are still being felt to date.
While launching the Digital Agenda Strategy (DAS) recently, Museveni said the pandemic, however, underscored the urgent need for the sector to develop and apply comprehensive digital and remote learning solutions.
“There is no doubt that the use of ICTs and the internet afford us more robust tools to ensure that we are much better prepared to navigate the potential challenges of any future pandemics,” Museveni said.
The strategy, set for implementation at Shs 1.310tn, will be reviewed annually while a mid-term evaluation will be conducted two years from the inception of the strategy. According to Museveni, the Education ministry has worked with the ministry of ICT and the National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U) to ensure adequate cyber security.
As part of the strategy, all digital devices to be provided to schools shall be pre-configured to prevent learners from accessing harmful content online. Every device shall be set up to only allow educational content and checked before being handed over to schools. Museveni said NITA-U and the IT teams at the education ministry in conjunction with the ICT ministry have been tasked to ensure compliance.
Museveni, however, appealed to parents to regulate the usage of ICT tools for children while at home since the ministry has no control over learners once they leave school.
DIGITAL READINESS ASSESSMENT
Before the official launch of the strategy, the Education ministry appointed a nine-member committee to assess the situation in schools. According to the E-readiness Assessment, 2022 report, a significant proportion of schools had not digitized their curricula content and teacher resources.
Results from the survey showed that out of 176 primary schools interviewed, only 38 (21.6%) of the schools reported having digitized content. At the secondary level, out of the 76 sampled schools, only 19 (25%) were ready.
The report further revealed that out of 149 primary and secondary schools in rural areas that were assessed, 120 (80.7%) lacked digitized content. At the universities, out of 294 teaching staff interviewed, 176 (60%) reported not providing learners with training in learning with technology,” reads an excerpt of the report.
The new O-level curriculum demands that teachers integrate ICT in all the teaching subjects. However, the survey found that teachers had limited ICT skills and had not had a chance for continuous professional development in ICT usage in education and sports.
Low adoption of ICT for special needs education was also observed at all levels. While universities indicated to have implemented ICT systems to support learners with special needs, few have followed the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) model of designing online courses. The UDL model advocates for every learner to have an equal opportunity to succeed.
In addition, since 2021, Uganda Communications Communication established ICT computer laboratories in more than 1,000 secondary schools, tertiary institutions, and universities. However, the report showed that maintenance of the computing infrastructure remained a challenge.
Despite the findings, the spokesperson of the Education ministry, Dr Denis Mugimba, the digital strategy is not a cast-in stone but a resource mobilization tool that is subject to review.
“I agree that teachers are still far behind in ICT but plans are underway to train them. We don’t want to put in place models that are going to breed inequity across the country,” Mugimba said while appearing on KFM radio recently.
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