Recently Bunyoro Kingdom petitioned the National Curriculum Development Centre over omission of its history in the revised lower secondary curriculum.
The petition was as a result of consultations in which the cultural institution established that “our history was not featuring in the topic under state formations where Bunyoro was previously one of the case studies alongside Buganda, Ankole and Acholi”
This new school curriculum began with senior one students who reported to school on February 17, 2020.
It is aimed at creating a balance between theoretical and practical subjects undertaken by secondary school students.
A number of subjects have been merged while others have been done away with.
According to Education Minister Janet Museveni, among others, the new curriculum promotes effective learning and acquisition of skills.
She said the curriculum further reduces subject and content overload and addresses the social and economic needs of the country by meeting the educational needs of the learners aspiring for higher academic learning as well as those that wish to transit to the labour market.
The government through the National Curriculum Development Centre is set to handle Bunyoro’s concerns pertaining the revised lower secondary curriculum.
The Kingdom noted in the petition that Bunyoro’s treasured social events such as coronation anniversary celebrations (Empango) and Empaako naming ceremony, which was inscribed by UNESCO as an intangible heritage that required protection, were not included in the new curriculum.
Bunyoro Kingdom Spokesperson Francis Mugerwa said government had responded to their petition and promised to address the Kingdom’s concerns regarding the revised curriculum.
“The Prime Minister has received feedback from the Director of the National Curriculum Development Centre Ms Grace K Baguma,” he said
He also added the MS Baguma said that they proposed the topic of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom to be learnt through the discovery method where learners would carry out research on the topic with the teacher’s guidance.
He further said Ms Baguma had explained that kingdoms with a lot of literature such as the Wanga Kingdom of Kenya and Bunyoro were left out for students to research and discover.
He noted that Ms Baguma further informed the kingdom that following their concern about the syllabus, content will be adjusted in the reprint to include the history of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom on the list of other societies in East Africa.
The Kingdom appreciated the National Curriculum Development Centre for the response and pledged continued engagement “to ensure that our concerns are positively addressed.”
The new curriculum includes new subjects such Chinese language, Music Dance and Drama to become Performing Arts, while Fine Art has been redesigned to include elements of design to become Art and Design. History has been integrated with Political Education among others.