SKILLING UGANDA FOR ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY AND DEVELOPMENT

Topic: On the Current Skills Development Process in Uganda and

its Relevance to the World of Work, 09.10am-10.50am, 25/09/14

Discussant: Professor Venansius Baryamureeba, VC UTAMU, barya@utamu.ac.ug

Overview

• Skilling Uganda Strategic Plan

– BTVET 10 year strategic plan

• Current Skills Development Process in Uganda

• Current Skills Relevance to World of Work

• Recommendations

PART 1

• The current skills development process to theworld of work: BTVET

Trends in the Uganda Education System

• Moving from issuance of educational certificatesto provision of skills and competences relevant tothe labour market

• Moving from low achieving school leavers toprovision of skills to all Ugandans

• Moving from school system to a flexibleworkplace oriented environment

• Moving to Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

• Moving from government provision of educationto Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)

How Prepared Are We For This Paradigm Shift ?

• Do we have the right curricula in place?

• How equipped are the workshops andlaboratories?

• Have the tutors/instructors been retooled inCompetency Based Education and Training(CBET)?

• Do we have enough tutors/instructors?

• Can the National Development Plan (NDP)identify the project Manpower needs for thecountry or we should we come up with theManpower plan?

Uganda Qualifications Framework for BTVET

• The Qualifications framework provides theoccupational and assessment standards in theworld of work, vocational qualifications forlearners who meet the standards of the differentstudies and guidelines for modular training andassessment.

• Emerging issues:

– To what extent are the occupational and assessmentstandards followed?

– Are students and teachers prepared for modular typeof training?

Strengthening The Prog Of Instructor Training

• The BTVET sub sector trained a total of 20technical teachers in order to develop their skillswhile 25 technical teachers from UGAPRIVinstitutions embarked on a one year KyambogoUniversity Program in the field of TechnicalTeacher training.

• 242 instructors were trained from the Northern,Eastern, Western and Central regions covering 24districts.

• Emerging Issues:– Do we have a comprehensive capacity building plan?

– How many more teachers do we need?

Establishment Of The Requisite Infrastructure• Government has reduced the number of districts without

a technical institution to 26 districts throughestablishment of technical institutes in 17 districts withouta technical institution.

• Government has also constructed health anddepartmental training institutions which are at differentlevels of completion: Hoima School of Nursing, Jinja schoolof Nursing, Butabika Psychiatric School, Gulu School ofclinical Officers, Fort Portal School of Clinical Officers, LiraSchool of Nursing and Mulago Paramedical School.

• Ongoing civil works at the nine (9) OPEC and three (3) IDB-funded sites and 4.5m USD has been provided by theKorean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for theconstruction of a Vocational Institute at Nakawa.

• Emerging Issues:– We must plan: we don’t need a technical institute/school etc

in each district!!!

MoES HE Strategy • The current Education system is training so many supervisors

(Degree holders) rather than Middle Managers and Technicianswho are supposed to work under the supervisors. Thus theplan is:– Establishing more technical institutions; it would increase access to

Technical Education thereby increasing the number of technicians atthe lower hierarchy of the pyramid of employment in Ugandatoday.

– Focus on increasing access to BTVET and hence on the right track ofimplementing Skilling Uganda

– Establishing more Technical Institutions especially covering thosesub counties without any form of Government BTVET institution andthe centres of excellence is in the bigger picture of marketing BTVETand eliminating the stigmatic tendencies related to it.

• Emerging Issues:– We need to focus on improving access and quality which may not

require setting up new institutions but strengthening existing ones– Ratio: degree: diploma: certicificate 1: 10: 20 in labour intense

sectors

MoES Plans to ensure that: • All formal BTVET programmes are restructured intoshort courses concentrated on practical work. Allprogrammes will be based on the occupationalstandards developed by the employers under UQF.This will in a way reduce the cost of formal BTVETtraining.

• Emerging Issues:– How will upward mobility be addressed?

– How will the graduates compare with those in theregion?

– What is the practice elsewhere?

Roles of Different Players • Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB)

• Uganda Business & Technical Examinations Board (UBTEB)

• Uganda Nurses and Midwives Examinations Board(UNMEB)

• Uganda Allied Health Examinations Board (UAHEB)

• Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT)

• National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC)

• National Council for Higher Education (NCHE)

• Tertiary institutions and other educational institutions

• Emerging issues:– Need for clear mandates as a result of ambiguity in the laws

– Uncoordinated decisions

– How can the roles and mandates of the above organs beharmonized?

Recommendations • Salary Review Commission with the Education and Sports

Sector

• Importance of the BTVET and other sectors should bereflected in the NDP and budgetary allocations includingstaff welfare and facilities– E.g. how does an MSc holder in a technical college compare

with an MSc holder in a University in terms of salary?

• Qualifications framework should be linked to the nationalmanpower plan

• Plan for retooling teachers in CBET

• Cost Benefit Analysis in setting up new institutions asopposed to rehabilitating & expanding existing ones

PART 2• Higher Education (HE)

– Post secondary education

• Qualifications:– Post secondary certificates– Diplomas– Degrees

• Other HE activities:– Research– Innovation– Engagement– Dissemination

Situation Analysis of Higher Education• Government white paper on Education Policy

Reform 1992– This is a very important and useful document– It covered what needed to be done in the sector

• A few quotations in the white paper:– Train high level technical, managerial and professional

personnel for all sectors of national life– Generate advanced knowledge and innovation through

research and adopt them to local and Ugandan situations– Provision of public service through extension work and

consultancy– Develop intellectual capacity of students to understand

their local and national environment, etc, etc.

So what happened after the white paper

• World bank policies took priority– Emphasis was placed on primary and secondary edn

• Shift in National priorities with more emphasison roads, energy, security

• No manpower/ Personnel power plan

• National Development Plan (NDP) not alwaysfollowed during budgeting; other priorities otherthan those in NDP take precedence

• Tertiary institutions (diploma institutions)converted into Universities e.g. Kyambogo,Busitema and Mutesa I Royal universities

So what happened after the white paper?

• Both private and public universities increased toover 40 coupled with:– Insufficient qualified staff,

– Insufficient infrastructure, facilities and laboratories

– Low book: student ratio

– Low salaries

– Low research funds

– INSUFFICIENT FUDNING ESP

• High birth rate causing a strain on Edn sector

• Less employable graduates in some disciplineshas been the norm as evidenced in the IUCEAreport of 2014

Recommendations• We need a Manpower plan/ personnel power plan• We need to link the Manpower plan to the NDP• Proper planning for education right from primary to

University– Using the education white paper of 1992 review the

whole education system to bring it to date– Set quality standards and enforce them– Clearly define main mandates of the different institutions

• Need for a Salary Review Commission– How can a Minister/ Permanent Secretary earn less than

an ED of an authority/ Commission within the sameministry

• Increase funding to Education Sector• Control population growth

Recommendations Cont’d • Any idea to come up with a Ministry responsible for

Higher Education should be well sought out:– I think a Ministry of Education Science, Industries and

Innovation would be appropriate.– Let us learn from others that have succeeded like South

Korea, Singapore, Mauritius

• Human Development requires that for all citizens todevelop , they have to ensure:– Quality Education Services– Quality Health Services– Employment Opportunities

• EDUCATION SHOULD BE PRIORITISED: Whatpercentage of the GDP goes to Education?

• Is Education a Public or Private Good? We mustanswer this question.

Part 3

• Students Training for Entrepreneurial Promotion (STEP)

Objectives of STEP• To equip University students who are in their

final year with basic business skills

• Empower students to set up their ownbusinesses instead of searching for formalemployment

• Emerging Issues:– Assumes that the students have discipline skills

– Assumes that everybody can start a business

– Successful business men/woman are the minority insociety

– Majority of the educated normally are employees notemployers

Then the Question is

• What process do you go through to identifythose to empower to set up their own business?

• How do you address the discipline specific skillsgaps?

Case Studies • Graduate of Ethics and Development Studies

– Agro Business and Tourism Business

• 2nd year student of Environment Studies

– Stationery and T-Shirt Business

• Money lending business

• Emerging Issues

– Youth need to focus on High Impact InnovativeBusiness Incubation

– We need to create a Ugandan version of Silicon Valley

– Without High Impact Business Innovations, we cantdevelopment as a country

Recommendations • We need to focus on the quality of the graduates

coming out of the education system– Do they have the required skills and competencies?

– Do they have soft skills including entrepreneurship skills?

• Need for venture capital fund

• Government should promote an innovation culturein all institutions

• We need science and technology parks

• We need to promote local entrepreneurs as rolemodels

• We need to provide documentaries of successfulyouth world wide to inspire the locals

The Discussion Continues

• I thank You.