Universities across the country have entered the final stretch of preparations for the transition to Competence-Based Education and Training (CBET), with about a year remaining before one of the most significant reforms in the higher education system takes effect.
According to the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), preparations are already underway with institutions reviewing curricula, retraining lecturers and redesigning how students will be taught and assessed. The Council Spokesperson, Saulo Waigolo, says NCHE has spent much of this year equipping universities and other tertiary institutions with the knowledge and standards needed to implement the reforms.
“We have so far conducted regional training workshops on competence-based teaching and training. We could not train every lecturer directly, so we trained master trainers who will return to their institutions and train their colleagues,” Waigolo said. He added that several universities have already started reviewing their academic programmes, while all newly developed programmes must comply with the competence-based standards before they are approved.
The preparations come ahead of the Ministry of Education and Sports’ July 2027 deadline requiring all universities and other tertiary institutions to align their programmes with the Competence-Based Education and Training framework. The move is intended to ensure that the first cohort of learners completing the competence-based secondary school curriculum enters a higher education system built on the same learner-centred approach, rather than reverting to the traditional lecture-based model.
At Kyambogo University, the transition is already underway. Our reporter visited the university, noting that they had begun training academic staff following NCHE’s regional engagements. According to different people who spoke to us, the training focuses on equipping lecturers with, among others, new approaches to teaching and training, supervising and assessing students under the competence-based model.
The University Vice Chancellor Prof Eli Katunguka said the institution intends to complete the review of all academic programmes before the deadline.
A similar process is unfolding at Equator University of Science and Technology in Masaka city. According to the university’s Vice Chancellor Prof. Mouhamad Mpezamihigo, staff training is ongoing, and curriculum reviews will follow immediately. Several programmes have already been redesigned and submitted to NCHE for approval, while others are nearing completion.
Prof. Mpezamihigo noted that competence-based education will strengthen the relationship between universities, employers and communities. “Graduates will leave university with practical skills that employers and communities need instead of only theoretical knowledge,” he said.
While university leaders support the reforms, they acknowledge that they will come at a high cost. Competence-based education demands more practical sessions, laboratories, fieldwork, industrial placements and continuous assessment than conventional lecture-based teaching. These requirements translate into higher operational costs.
The Vice Chancellor of Equator University said institutions must invest more in practical training facilities and industry partnerships if the reforms are to succeed. Prof Katunguka raised similar concerns, noting that neither public nor private universities have received dedicated government funding to support the transition. He, however, noted that every major reform comes with challenges and Institutions will definitely learn during implementation, adjust where necessary, and continue improving.
In February this year, the National Council for Higher Education issued the Guidelines and Minimum Standards for Competence-Based Education and Training, providing the framework that universities and other tertiary institutions must follow as they transition from the traditional content-based model.
The reforms are intended to address one of the long-standing criticisms of Uganda’s higher education system, the mismatch between what graduates learn at university and the skills demanded by employers. Many graduates leave university with strong theoretical knowledge but limited practical competencies, forcing employers to invest additional time and resources in workplace training.
According to the CBET minimum standard reviewed by URN, universities are expected to align learning outcomes with labour market needs by focusing on measurable competencies that students can demonstrate in real-life and professional settings rather than simply completing prescribed course content.
“The standards serve as a foundational guide to support institutions in transitioning from traditional teaching approaches to learner-centred and outcomes-driven education that emphasizes demonstrable competencies,” said Prof. Mary Okwakol, the NCHE Executive Director, in the preface to the guidelines.
The NCHE standards identify about eight core dimensions that institutions must incorporate into every programme. These include learner-centred teaching approaches, competence-based assessment, flexible learning pathways, recognition of prior learning, continuous quality improvement, and stronger partnerships with industry and communities to ensure graduates acquire relevant workplace skills.
Lessons from TVET
The transition is not entirely new to Uganda’s education system. Competence-based training has been implemented in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector since around 2011 and was further strengthened by the 2019 TVET Policy. Today, most TVET programmes are competence-based and modularised, with training designed around occupational standards and workplace requirements.
Universities are expected to adopt a similar model of curriculum development. Instead of academic programmes being designed largely within universities, the new approach requires curriculum development to involve employers, professional associations, regulatory bodies, academia and representatives of the wider community. The objective is to ensure graduates possess competencies that reflect the realities of the workplace.
Institutions will also be required to establish formal partnerships and memoranda of understanding with employers, industries and professional bodies to support industrial training, work-integrated learning, curriculum review and graduate assessment.
The reforms are also expected to fundamentally change how university students are assessed. Rather than relying predominantly on end-of-semester written examinations conducted in lecture halls, assessment will increasingly mirror real-world professional practice. Students will be evaluated through practical tasks, projects, simulations, portfolios, workplace learning and other authentic forms of assessment that demonstrate mastery of specific competencies.
Progression will be determined primarily by a student’s ability to demonstrate the required competencies, rather than the amount of time spent in a programme, marking a significant departure from the traditional university model-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
