By KT Reporter
The government’s ambitious policy to upgrade nursery teachers’ qualifications through free scholarships is struggling to gain traction, with low enrollment figures raising concerns about its effectiveness.
In 2019, the government mandated that all teachers, including those in nursery, must hold a degree. To support this transition, the Ministry of Education launched a scholarship program targeting certificate holders to upgrade to diplomas at 23 core Primary Teachers’ Colleges. However, despite offering thousands of scholarships, the uptake has remained alarmingly low.
While giving the manifesto progress report, Janet Museveni, the Education Minister, said that although many slots have been put up under the government’s commitment to improve ECD through institutionalizing their training, teachers are not turning.
From the available data, in 2023, the government offered 1,980 scholarships, but only 683 teachers enrolled, representing a 34.5% uptake. The situation worsened in 2024 when 2,300 scholarships were made available, yet only 605 teachers took up the opportunity, a 26.3% enrollment rate. For 2025, another 2,300 slots are planned, but if current trends persist, the program may continue to fall short of its goals.
Dr Kedrace Turyagyenda, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education attributes the low turnout to a significant structural issue saying that many nursery teachers trained in unaccredited private institutions, making them ineligible for admission into Primary Teachers’ Colleges.
Dr Turyagyenda acknowledged that for years, the early childhood development (ECD) sector was largely left to private players, operating with little oversight. As a result, individuals from unaccredited institutions were allowed to train teachers which is now haunting individual teachers and the sector at large.
Speaking to URN, Annet Nalugo, a kindergarten caregiver, expressed frustration with the structure of the government’s scholarship program. According to Nalugo, the requirement for teachers to attend classes full-time in a pre-service model—spending three terms on campus—has deterred many eligible candidates.
“Most of the teachers, especially those who completed their training years ago, are adults with families and responsibilities. They can’t afford to be away from home and work for such a long period,” she explained.
Nalugo believes an in-service model, where teachers attend classes during school holidays, would have attracted more applicants. “They should have put in-service programs during holidays. It could have had a better turnout, that’s what I think,” she added.
However, Turyagyenda noted that the Education Ministry recognized the issues with the learning model and has since made changes. She said that trainees are now studying during holidays and weekends thus urging those meeting the entry requirements to hurry and enroll.
Currently, the career progression pathway for ECD caregivers enables advancement from a certificate to a diploma, then to a degree, and ultimately a PhD. This system ensures that individuals who start at the certificate level have the opportunity to pursue higher qualifications.
However, the requirement for nursery teachers to have a degree as the minimum qualification is still under debate, particularly as Parliament continues to discuss the National Teacher Bill, which is expected to operationalize the policy in question-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
