Education Sector Strategic Plan 2004-2015 - Planipolis

(b) Reconfigure the post-primary sub-sector
Final ESSP
During the ten-year timeframe of the ESSP, the Ministry will shift gradually from
inflexible parallel tracks of: (1) a six-year academic curriculum (secondary)
designed to prepare students for higher education and (2) a two or three-year
vocational education program designed to prepare students for entry level jobs in the
work force. Within BTVET, the Ministry will make a gradual transition from postprimary
full-time programs to a more flexible BTVET system. The post-primary
reconfiguration does not affect training institutes that follow the fourth year of
general secondary or the curriculum of Secondary 5 and 6.
General secondary. Not all general secondary schools will look alike. Schools will
be tailored to the communities they serve. Rural schools may alter the calendar to
meet farming seasons, and they should be able to accommodate students who drop
out and return. Community “seed” schools will be small and may offer multi-grade
courses. Urban schools will be large and may use double-shifts to make efficient use
of facilities. Centres of excellence throughout the rural areas will attract diligent
students.
BTVET. In order to provide larger numbers of learners with timely acquisition of
vocational skills, BTVET will be organized within the framework of the Uganda
Vocational Qualifications Framework/Authority (UVQF/A) for assessment and
certification of occupational competencies. The UVQF/A will articulate course
objectives with corresponding job qualifications and certify learners’ fulfilment of
course requirements. Training providers, public and private, will be encouraged to
offer courses that correspond to the assessment requirements specified in the
UVQF/A.
This new BTVET framework will complement the post-primary general curriculum
for all students. Most courses will be aimed at students who have completed four
years of general secondary, but they will be open to all learners who have the
requisite skills and knowledge to enter.
Courses will be modularized, so that learners can acquire specific skills within a
short period of time and move directly into an entry-level job or advance to a higherlevel
of certification. Short, modularized courses allow more learners to access the
system, because each training centre can accommodate more students in a given
period of time. This is the model used by the Directorate of Industrial Training,
which is solidly based within industry and should play a central role in a
reconfigured BTVET system.
Figure 1 in Annex 1B depicts in a simple graphic the relationship of such a BTVET
system to the rest of the system.
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