Education minister Janet Museveni pledges more funds, better legislation of vocational education

The Minister of Education and Sports, First Lady Janet Kataha Museveni, has responded positively to requests made by Dr Eng. Silver Mugisha, the Chairperson of Uganda Business and Technical Examination Board (UBTEB) during the release of the UBTEB July-August 2022 examinations results on Tuesday in Kampala.

“I have taken note of the request by the Board Chairperson to fast track the TVET law aimed at streamlining TVET delivery and assessment; this will be consolidated through the enactment of the TVET Act,” the First Lady said in a message delivered by John Chrysostom Muyingo, the State Minister for Higher Education.

This was at the release of UBTEB July-August 2022 examinations results at the Office of the President, Kampala. She added: “I pledge that my ministry will continue to collaborate with all relevant authorities to ensure that timely completion is realized,”

The TVET law is not the only thing that Mugisha requested. He also requested additional funds to enable them to accomplish budgeted activities. At the moment, the Board is undertaking the construction of the Shs25.6bn Assessment Centre.“We request that ceiling of 6.2bn should be maintained in the coming budget without any budget cuts but also the releases for this financial be done timely so as to avoid penalties from the overdue certificates from the contractor,” Mugisha told the education minister.

In response, the minister said that the ministry will work closely with the Board to ensure that the construction is completed as per the stipulated time frame.

Mugisha stated that the Board recommends a review of the unit cost of delivering and assessing TVET programmes to inform the decision to increase either government funding or examination fees for TVET assessment. The cost of running practical assessment at the Board level and in institutions requires support if the quality is graduates have to be produced, he said.

Mugisha also said there is a need for government support on ICT-related activities in terms of subsidization of data for educational research and considering zero rating on websites for training institutions.

The Uganda Business and Technical Examination Board Executive Secretary, Onesmus Oyesigye, said the Board registered a total of 39,036 candidates for the end of the programme and modular assessment in the July/August 2022 series, however, 2, 095 candidates were absent in one or more modules.

Oyesigye gave the reasons for missing the exams as failure to meet the tuition fees requirements, being engaged in work for working students and sometimes sicknesses. He noted that the 2, 095 absenteeism figure is still high.

The Board registered more candidates in 2022 than in 2021, an increase attributed to continued advocacy for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Skills, the introduced system of modularised assessment and the awakening of citizens towards vocational skills acquisition.

“Whereas the numbers of female candidates have continued to increase, the male candidates still dominate in TVET. Therefore, continued awareness and more affirmative actions are still called for to improve the situation,” Oyesigye noted. The increase of female candidates tickled the First Lady right. She said the consistent growth in the number of female students pursuing Technical and Vocational education in Uganda is a commendable job and that her ministry will sustain the drive to realize gender equity in TVET institutions across the country.

“I am impressed by the ever-increasing number of students enrolling for TVET programmes at various levels. I take note that for this particular release 28,050 trainees have acquired competencies in the various occupations and can join the world of work,”

“I also appreciate the ever-increasing number of female trainees in TVET. This will automatically result in an increase in the number of skilled youths who can create their own jobs,” she explained.

The First Lady noted that 21st-century skills call for innovativeness and research in order to deliver Quality TVET that contributes towards the production of competent Technicians and Artisans that can contribute to the social and economic transformation and national development.

She revealed that the country has prioritized key sectors that can spur industrial growth and development such as Manufacturing, Construction, Information Communications Technology, Tourism and Hospitality, Agriculture, Science and Technology among others.