Parliamentary Committee okays degree qualification for teachers

The Committee on Education and Sports has recommended that eligibility for registration as a teacher is a degree in education or a relevant degree, and a post graduate diploma in education for pre-primary, primary and secondary school teachers.

The recommendation is contained in the report on the National Teacher’s Bill, 2023 that was presented by the Committee Chairperson, Hon. James Kubeketerya during the plenary sitting on Tuesday, 26 November 2024.
“The committee observes that the Bill intends to ensure that the teaching profession is regularised and standardised, and the requirement of a Bachelor’s degree for a teacher will go a long way in achieving this,” read the report in part.

The Bill also establishes the National Teacher’s Council (NTC), as a body corporate which the committee welcomed but recommended that its membership is revised to include different categories of representatives concerned with the teaching profession.
“The committee observes that the council is composed of more persons who are not engaged in active teaching compared to those engaged in active teaching. Only three out of the seven members of the council are engaged in active teaching,” Kubeketerya said.

The committee further recommended that the Bill should provide for collaboration between NTC and the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC).

The Committee’s recommendation was premised on the observation that whereas Clause 10 of the Bill provides for collaboration between NTC and the National Council for Higher Education, it stands to leave out other critical agencies like the NCDC.
“Clause 10 should be amended to include collaboration with other government agencies and to provide for collaboration in training of trainers and accreditation for continuous professional development programmes for teachers,” he said.

The Bill also proposes introducing a one-year internship programme for teachers but the committee disagreed with the proposal, arguing that it is not fair for a teacher to undertake school practice and internship.
“The committee observes that the period of one year is too long after a teacher has completed a degree and is subjected to another year of training, in addition to school practice. Teachers should only be required to do teaching and school practice,” Kubeketerya said.