Perspectives of curriculum regulatory authorities on adopting a decolonized curriculum in Uganda: a case of National Curriculum Development Center (NCDC)

Abstract

The ongoing African renaissance and the decolonization imperatives are inviting Africans to reconsider the role of Africa ways of knowing as a way of decolonizing curriculum. Like other countries in Africa, Uganda needs an education that uses local experiences, realities, values and languages to create a lifelong impact on the masses. The ongoing colonial education was aimed at training low and middle level workers for government and missionary service and therefore the skills and competences promoted by such an education do not match with those required by contemporary demands. This explains why despite the increasing number of universities and tertiary institutions, and having many graduates (at least 400,000 per annum) Kamuhanda J(2022), the productivity of the nation in many sectors is still low.  It is not clear if Uganda’s education regulatory authorities like NCDC, NCHE, ESA support and therefore consider a move towards a home grown / endogenous / decolonized curriculum. Hence, the study aimed at finding the perspectives of NCDC’s technical staff on curriculum transformation with in a decolonized framework. The study used questionnaires and review of NCDC’s literature to find views of technical staff (curriculum specialists) at NCDC.