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Title: 
From classroom to land: teaching agriculture practically
Location: 
Central Region, Northern Region
Timing: 
2019 – 2021
Budget: 
€ 2,560,000
Donor: 
Belgium
Sector: 
Secondary technical and vocational education and training; secondary education
Focus: 
Professional development of teachers and instructors (PRESET and INSET); agricultural education and training; agri-entrepreneurship education
Challenge: 

Uganda is home to a youthful population striving for economic opportunities. For the foreseeable future, the agricultural sector will continue to be the backbone of the economy and key to absorb most of the youth-oriented jobs. Many young Ugandans see a future for themselves in the sector as ‘agripreneurs’. To fulfil these aspirations, they need relevant competences.

But young people rarely complete lower secondary-level agricultural or certificate-level agricultural business, technical and vocational education and training (BTVET) with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to succeed. This is largely due to the fact that the agricultural education and training they receive, is too theoretical.

Quality teaching is part of the solution for these challenges.  The supply of well-trained, qualified teachers and instructors must be assured by national teacher colleges (NTCs) such as Mubende and Unyama and by the National Instructors College Abilonino (NICA).

Goal: 

Teachers and instructors of lower secondary-level agricultural and certificate-level agricultural BTVET have the competencies to deliver quality and relevant agricultural education and training.

Partners: 
  • Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) – Teacher/tutor, Instructor Education and Training (TIET) Department, BTVET Department, Secondary Education Department
  • National Teachers College (NTC) Mubende 
  • National Teachers College (NTC) Unyama 
  • National Instructors College Abilonino (NICA)
Approach: 

The programme centered on improving the pre-service training (PRESET) for O-level agriculture teachers and certificate-level agricultural BTVET instructors.

It was built around three pillars:

  • Improving the quality and relevance of the PRESET provided by NTCs Mubende and Unyama
  • Improving the quality and relevance of the PRESET provided by NICA
  • Strengthening the enabling environment for further agriculture teacher/instructor professional development

The first two pillars ensured that the graduates of the NTCs and NICA were ready to teach agriculture in a practical, competency-based manner. Specific attention went to the integration of entrepreneurship education and quality internships in the agricultural sector.

The third pillar took a systemic approach, looking at the retention of NTC and NICA graduates in the education system and their needs and demand for continuous professional development, as well as the role that pre-service institutions can play in meeting this demand.

Achievements of the programme:

NTCs Mubende and Unyama:

  • have switched from a theoretical to a practical way of teaching agriculture
  • have significantly improved the viability of their school farms and use them as pedagogical resources for the development of technical and entrepreneurial competencies
  • have expanded their networks of practice schools and provide better support-supervision to student-teachers

NICA:

  • has switched from a theoretical to a practical way of teaching agriculture
  • has expanded its network of ‘industrial training’ (internship) sites across the agribusiness ecosystem and provides better support supervision to student instructors
  • has expanded its network of practice schools and provides better support supervision to student instructors

MoES, together with relevant stakeholders:

  • has evidence about the transition to work of NTC and NICA graduates and use this evidence to improve policy and practice
  • has a clear view on the role that NTCs can play in the in-service training of O-level agriculture teachers and on the demand for such training

To reach its goals, VVOB  develops the capacity of its partners in Uganda. VVOB uses capacity development trajectories that give partners maximal responsibility in the execution and management of their own change processes. This is done through technical assistance provided by the VVOB  team, which includes both local and international educational and change management experts.

 

[© picture: Ronald Ddungu]