Private schools in Luweero district have been accused of sabotaging the development of the thematic curriculum, the programme designed to teach learners in their local language up to P4.
Close to a decade ago, government introduced the curriculum to assist learners to develop competencies and life skills after instruction in their own language. Experts insisted at the time, that learners who mastered basic literacy and numeracy skills in their mother tongue were better prepared to succeed in the English language as well.
However, in responding to concerns by parents, The Observer has found that several area private schools in the have been reluctant to adhere to the thematic curriculum policy.
Henry Kemba and Yudaya Zawedde, both teachers at Luweero SDA primary school, confirmed that private schools have de-campaigned the programme to woo parents.
“Private schools mislead parents over this thematic curriculum. Government needs to sensitize the parents about the need to teach the children in Luganda because they [parents] are only interested in English,” Zawedde said.
“Most parents don’t know these things but these people [private school owners] who approach them at home, ask them to send children to their schools [after] giving them wrong information.”
Jaden Salwa, a language teacher at Kasana Quality School, added that they had enrolled more pupils as parents had indicated that they wanted their children to learn English.
“We have received an increase in the number of pupils here because of the parents transferring their children from government schools to our school. They want their children to learn English because in government schools, mostly in lower primary, they learn Luganda,” she said.
However, some proprietors of private schools disagree. For instance, Gideon Serubiri, the head teacher at New Africa Day & Boarding primary school insisted it was the good standards at the school that propel parents to send in their children.
Salwa added that, “these parents always come to us and when we ask them why they are bringing their children here, they tell us that they want them to learn English.”
In its defence, the Luweero District Inspector of Schools, Hajji Uthuman Kamoga Jjuuko said the thematic curriculum programme is good but it is misunderstood.
“Most parents were not sensitized about it. Government needed to first sensitize parents… most of them thought it [teaching in Luganda] breeds failures in the finals [PLE] which are set and answered in English.”
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