By Kangave Mudi
Following the release of the recent PLE, UCE, and UACE exam results, many schools, administrators, and teachers are in self-denial, blaming under-marking, favouritism, and grading imbalances for their poor performance.
Some institutions spend endless hours with so-called strategic thinkers, yet they fail to think of any meaningful solutions.
The Dead Horse Theory is a satirical metaphor that illustrates how individuals, institutions, or even entire nations respond to clear, persistent problems.
Rather than accepting reality and making necessary changes, they waste time justifying ineffective actions.
The concept is simple: if you realise you’re riding a dead horse, the logical response is to dismount and find another way forward.
However, in practice, many do the opposite. Instead of abandoning the dead horse, they:
- Buy a new saddle, hoping it will somehow revive the horse.
- Change the rider rather than acknowledging the horse is dead.
- Fire the caretaker and hire another, expecting different results.
- Hold endless meetings on how to increase the horse’s speed.
- Set up committees to investigate why the horse died, only to conclude what was already obvious.
- Justify their failures by pointing to others riding similarly dead horses.
- Redefine "dead" to convince themselves the horse still has potential.
This theory perfectly describes the state of Uganda’s education sector—riding a dead horse while pretending it still has life.
The Teacher’s Plight: A Nation’s Decline
“When the teacher becomes the poorest of government employees, do not ask about the future.”
A nation’s future can be measured by the state of its teachers. If they are honoured, the country is headed towards prosperity. If they are marginalised, the society is spiralling into ignorance and decline.
A teacher is not merely a government employee performing a daily duty; they are the architects of generations and the pillars of civilisation.
But what happens when this pillar is weakened—struggling to survive, battling harsh conditions, and living in constant deprivation? What happens when shaping minds becomes synonymous with poverty?
When a teacher suffers, a nation abandons its path to glory. A state that neglects its teachers is digging its own grave, dismantling its future with its own hands.
A country’s true strength does not lie in its wealth or military power but in the minds of its children—minds shaped by teachers.
Yet, in Uganda, teachers are treated as afterthoughts. Their salaries are among the lowest in the public service, barely enough to last three days. Their dignity is trampled upon, and their contribution to national development is disregarded.
How can a society prosper when its role models are crushed under the weight of neglect?
When a teacher cannot afford basic necessities, education becomes a business, and schools turn into centres for grades rather than knowledge.
A teacher is the torch that lights the way for generations. Extinguish that torch, and the entire nation is plunged into darkness.
And when the dignity of the teacher is broken, it is not just an individual who collapses but an entire civilisation.
We have only two choices: either we rebuild our education system with teachers at the centre, or we continue sinking into the depths of backwardness.
Nations that respected their teachers built lasting legacies, while those that neglected them faded into irrelevance.
There is no revival without education, and no education without empowered teachers. If we truly want a future worth celebrating, we must start by restoring the dignity of those who shape the minds of generations.
Because a nation is not just its land and borders…
A nation is a mind that thinks, a child who reads, and a teacher who sacrifices to illuminate the path for all.
Mr Kangave Mudi is a teacher, teacher trainer, and author