MP Ssewungu attacks policy requiring teachers to have degree

The MP for Kalungu West Joseph Ssewungu, has disagreed with recent directive from the ministry of Education and Sports tasking teachers to upgrade to degree level if they want to keep their jobs.

He said government should first raise the salaries of teachers so that they are able to get enough money to join those universities for upgrading.

While speaking to journalists, Ssewungu argued that the level of education cannot solve the current loopholes in education system.

His remarks came after teachers were given a ten year deadline to upgrade their qualification to a degree.

The directive starts in 2021 and they have up to 2031 to upgrade.

According to the ministry of education, few months to 2021, the ministry is slated to review the curriculum of national training colleges and primary training colleges to upgrade them into degree awarding institutions.

The new directive seeks to phase out all the Grade III certificate and grade V diploma training courses.

However Ssewungu said what is affecting the education system in Uganda is not the teachers' level of education.

He said the government should focus more on improving on the facilities in these training colleges, methods of teaching,welfare of teachers among others.

“Let me say this. iI’s not the qualification of teachers that determine the teaching but the method or type of teaching, management and the renumeration of teachers that determine teaching,"he said.

He revealed that many teachers’ training colleges in the country have failed to recruit teachers because the requirements set are too high making teachers to abandon teacher training colleges.