KAMPALA, Uganda – The National Council for Curriculum Development is seeking Shs17 billion for a comprehensive review of the upper secondary school curriculum and the printing and distribution of learning materials for primary one through three.
NCDC Director Dr. Bernadette Nambi appeared before the Committee on Education and Sports on Wednesday and said the funding, which has not been provided for in the 2026/2027 budget, also is intended to support teacher training on the revised curriculum.
Nambi said the funding will facilitate training for teachers to effectively implement the revised curriculum and boost staffing levels from 57% to 65%.
“The NCDC structure provides for 236 employees, and out of these, only 135 have been recruited. This has led to staff burnout, yet considering the ongoing curriculum review, we need additional staff,” Nambi said.
She added that priorities such as office accommodation and transport are not covered in the Shs41 billion allocated to the center in the next financial year.
Committee Chairperson James Kubeketerya tasked NCDC to strengthen public sensitization on the revised curriculum, citing widespread concerns among teachers and parents.
“If you have a public relations office, let it triple its efforts because whenever I go to radios, people say they do not understand the new curriculum. It should be in your outreach programs,” Kubeketerya said.
Kashari South County Member of Parliament Nathan Itungo called on the center to provide detailed justification for the additional funding.
“You have said that the primary curriculum is not well aligned with lower secondary curriculum, that it is outdated and has errors. Show us those errors, the redundancies and repetitions so that you can be supported,” Itungo said.
Itungo warned that limited staffing could undermine efforts to improve the quality of education.
UPDF Representative Jennifer Alanyo commended NCDC for rolling out the teaching of Kiswahili and training 956 teachers on the Primary Four Kiswahili curriculum in the Eastern region. She urged the center to expand the initiative to other parts of the country.
