KAMPALA – The Belgium government through its development agency, Enabel, has extended Shs102.4 billion (23 million Euros) to the Uganda government for the improvement of teacher training, infrastructural and ICT development in national teachers’ colleges across the country.
The beneficiary national teachers’ colleges are Mubende, Kaliro, Kabale, Unyama and Muni.
Speaking at the handover of the grant, the Belgium Resident Representative, Ms Christelle Jocquet, said Ugandan teachers need to be re-trained frequently to improve on the quality of education as well as improving the environment of learning.
“Although access to education has substantially increased over the years, there is a growing concern on the declining quality of education due to the massive influx of students in existing schools,” Ms Jocquet said.
“In this context, providing teachers capable of delivering high-quality education is crucial to improving the education sector. It is against this background that the Belgian government with the Uganda government has set up a teacher training education project to bridge the gap,” she added.
Ms Jocquent explained that they had to intervene after receiving reports that male and female trainee teachers in teachers colleges like Kabale and Kaliro were sharing dormitories which had raised pregnancy rates.
She noted that Shs8 billion (1.8 million euro) of the money will go towards the procurement of pedagogical guidelines to support the quality of teaching and learning within the colleges and partner secondary schools.
“We have procured 600 copies of these tools and guidelines which will be delivered to those colleges with the aim of improving the quality of education and producing qualified teachers for the future,” Ms Jocquet said.
She added that Shs1.6 billion is slated to purchase ICT equipment to improve learning within the classroom and provide more access to information for teacher trainers and NTC teachers. The items include computers, laptops, cameras, printers and tablets.
She explained that Shs107 million of the money has been given to each college towards the improvement of infrastructure which shall include classrooms, dormitories for the students, and laboratories among others.
