Uganda’s higher education institutions are facing mounting operational and structural challenges as they race to comply with new competency-based education requirements.
According to John Paul Kasujja, Dean of Studies at Nkumba University, the transition is not just about revising curricula—but confronting deep-rooted gaps in teaching capacity, systems, and institutional readiness.
One of the most pressing challenges is lecturer preparedness. Kasujja notes that many university instructors were trained under traditional, teacher-centered models and lack formal grounding in modern pedagogical approaches required for competency-based learning.
“We have lecturers who are subject experts but are not trained in how to teach using these new methods,” he explained, pointing to a critical skills gap that could slow down implementation.
To address this, universities are now undertaking large-scale retooling efforts, organizing training workshops to equip lecturers with skills in curriculum design, student-centered instruction, and continuous assessment. However, this process requires time, resources, and consistency—factors that vary significantly across institutions.
Another major hurdle is curriculum redesign itself. Universities are required to review and overhaul all programmes to align with competency-based standards set by the National Council for Higher Education. This involves not only rewriting course content but also redefining learning outcomes, assessment methods, and delivery models.
Kasujja admits that this is a complex and resource-intensive process, especially for institutions managing multiple programmes across different disciplines.
The shift in assessment also presents challenges. Moving from exam-heavy systems to a model where coursework accounts for 60 percent of grading demands new tools for tracking student performance, supervising projects, and ensuring consistency in evaluation. Universities must now invest in systems that can support continuous assessment at scale.
Additionally, there is a risk of mismatch during the transition period. While secondary education has already begun implementing competency-based curricula, many universities are still catching up.
This creates uncertainty about whether institutions will be fully ready to receive the first cohort of students trained under the new system.
“There is a real concern that students may arrive before some universities are fully prepared,” Kasujja noted.
Infrastructure and learning resources also pose a challenge. Competency-based education requires more practical engagement—labs, workshops, fieldwork, and project-based learning environments—which some institutions may not have adequately developed.
Despite these hurdles, the directive from the regulator is firm: all programmes must be aligned by 2027 or risk being phased out.