The National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) has announced that the number of subjects offered by students at A-Level will be reduced in the proposed curriculum under review.
The revision of the A-Level curriculum began earlier this year to benefit the students currently undertaking the new lower secondary school curriculum.
According to Dr. Richard Irumba, the Deputy Director of Research, Consultancy, and Library Services at NCDC, this change means that students will only study two principal subjects, which will be considered by higher tertiary institutions when admitting students into courses of their choice.
This move has been welcomed by education experts, who believe that it will reduce the workload and make students more focused on key areas.
However, career guidance will be essential to help learners choose their subjects wisely to avoid regrets later on.
The pioneer students of the competence-based lower secondary school curriculum are expected to join A-Level in 2024, and NCDC hopes that these students will find the new A-Level curriculum beneficial.
The government has released Shs6b of the total Shs100m required to implement the new curriculum, leaving a balance of Shs94b. The review of the A-Level curriculum is crucial, and the government needs to release the required funds on time to avoid a mismatch between the two curricula.
NCDC has unveiled the proposed curriculum to the heads of higher institutions in the country, and experts from Belgium will assist Ugandan professionals in developing a competence-based A-Level curriculum.
Once the review process is complete, NCDC will develop content based on the outline before printing the books. Training of teachers and implementation is scheduled to begin after the books have been printed.
Other proposals in the new A-Level curriculum include a minimum tenure of two years and a maximum of five years, replacing General Paper with contemporary subjects such as generic ICT, allowing learners to repeat only subjects failed at Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) exams, requiring all students to offer a vocational subject, and making continuous assessment contribute 20% of the end-of-A-Level cycle grade, with UACE exams making up the remaining 80%.
