ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF SCHOOL MANAGEMENT, TEACHING AND

LEARNING PROCESSES IN EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: CHALLENGES,

BEST PRACTICES AND PROPOSED INTERVENTIONS

Paper to be presented to the Education and Sports Sector Review

By

DIRECTORATE OF EDUCATION STANDARDS (DES)

SEPTEMBER 2014.

1. Introduction
The environment in which the Directorate of Education Standards (DES) has been
operating since its establishment has been characterized by the achievement of
significant progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal of providing
full access to primary education for all boys and girls. The enrollment rate at lower
primary is now close to one hundred percent, participation is high and the challenge
now is to assure quality; and the retention of learners through to primary seven.
It is undeniable that economic, social and cultural factors affect retention rates in our
schools. Other factors such as the quality of instruction, provision and maintenance of
school infrastructure and other inputs, attendance by teaching staff, the quality of school
management and community involvement also have a very powerful impact on learner
morale and ultimately on retention. It is in these areas that can be most effective in
improving standards, quality and ultimately outcomes of education.
Improving the completion rates to primary seven by a significant margin is also of great
importance. With improvement of completion rates at primary level comes greater
expectations and participation at secondary level and ultimately at tertiary level. The
crucial foundation stone for the entire national education system is therefore a strong,
efficient, motivated and professional primary education sector.
Coupled with the above background, we live in times of great change and challenge.
Never before has our society had such need and such high expectations of teachers and
schools. A high quality education system is an essential component and pre-requisite of
a successful society and economy. Society now expects schools to deal effectively with
the challenges of different local languages and student backgrounds, be sensitive to
culture and gender issues, promote tolerance and social cohesion, respond effectively to
disadvantaged students and students with learning difficulties and keep up to date with
the rapidly developing areas of knowledge and approaches to teaching, learning and
assessment.
Our teachers now need to have the skills to prepare students to join a society and an
economy in which they will be expected to contribute effectively and to build successful
lives and livelihoods for themselves. Young people will not only need the knowledge
and skills for employment and self-employment but also the personal characteristics to
take responsibility for their own lives, that is, self-confidence, self-reliance, enterprise
and the ability to become lifelong learners.
2. Quality Education
DES has responsibility for setting standards, assuring quality and evaluating
performance in education. DES also supports schools and educational institutions to
improve quality and promote best practice in order to ensure that high quality,
continually improving, efficient and responsive education services are delivered to the
Ugandan people.
1

DES view of Quality School Management, Teaching and Learning may be

summarized as follows:
Quality Learning

Quality Teaching

School Management

Premised on a fact that: The professionalism and Governors

have
the
all students have the
commitment of teachers is
potential or capacity to
ability to learn and reach
central to the process of
monitor school activities
their full potential.
learning.
and hold the School
accountable
for
Learning involves the Quality teaching is directly
performance nd financial
development of personal
related to the quality of the
propriety.
qualities as well as skills
relationship
between
and knowledge.
teacher and student.
Governors link the school
with wider community;
Good motivation is a key Quality teaching depends
participate in planning,
to learning. Motivation is
upon teachers knowing and
school
improvement
related
to
students
supporting their students
activities and fundraising.
experience of school, the
individually.
quality of the learning
Management
provides
Quality teaching leaves no
environment, home-life,
leadership, motivates staff,
student behind.
community,
interests
interprets and implements
Quality teaching involves
and cultural influences.
policy,
communicates
talking to students about
expectations and vision and
Students will learn more
their learning; providing
mission.
where learning is made
regular feedback on their
enjoyable students.
Management of school
progress; and providing
financial
and
other
Students will want to
guidance for improvement.
resources is efficient and
learn more where they
Quality teaching involves
effective.
are
allowed
to
students
actively
in
experience success.
Management
supervises
learning and challenges
the teaching and learning
Students who are active
them
to
think
for
process, pay attention to
and involved will gain
themselves.
co-curricular needs of
from
their
learning
Quality teaching conveys a
learners, addresses access,
experience.
love of learning through
equity,
climate
and
Learners feel a sense of
example.
relationships
concerns
achievement when they
within the school.
Quality teaching is well
are challenged to think
planned, prepared for and Management
generates:
things
through
for
organized, and creates a
interest in school by
themselves
either
positive atmosphere in the
community leaders and
individually or as a
classroom.
parents; parental interest
member of a group.
in and support for learner
Quality teaching helps
Working in a group or
achievement.
students
develop
the
community of learners
attitudes and skills for
enhances
quality
2

learning
through
motivation and mutual
support.

lifelong learning, for life

and for livelihood.

3. Current Position Related to Quality of Education

DES is acutely aware of the challenges, many of which are of general nature, facing
teachers in their day-to-day work and respects the purpose, experience, insight and
creativity of teachers and education managers as they seek solutions to the challenges
and difficulties they face.
This paper from DES offers a commentary on the current position related to provision in
the four sub-sectors that fall under the remit of DES. It identifies issues which impact on
the quality of provision at school and classroom level; challenges which are being
encountered and propose recommendations for future action. The four sub-sectors are
Primary, Secondary, TIET and BTVET.
a) Primary Sector
Primary school classrooms are characterized by traditional teacher centered
teaching styles where pupils are largely passive and there is an over reliance on
rote learning. Teachers need the skills to lead learner-centered classrooms
where students are active learners and the teacher is a facilitator of learning.
b) Secondary Sector
Teaching in secondary schools is dominated by preparation for national
examinations. The content of annual examination papers guides teaching more
than the curriculum. Fact retention dominates teaching strategies, pupils are not
being taught to think and analyze, they are being taught to memorize.
c) Teacher and Instructor Education and Training (TIET)
The new curriculum introduced to PTCs in 2013 was an innovation bringing a
wide range of new content but the most far-reaching change it proposed was in
approaches to teaching and learning. Tutors are now expected to model learnercentered strategies to their students to support the development of independent
learning skills and self-reliance. If student teachers are exposed to this style of
learning it is reasonable to expect that they will employ it in their own practice.
College tutors have received no CPD to help them prepare for this kind of
fundamental change in their teaching styles. Unless they receive support they
will continue to teach in the old traditional teacher centered way. The New
Curriculum will then become an innovation without change and a great
opportunity to change primary school teaching for the better will have been lost.
d) Business, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (BTVET)

Vocational education is often perceived as lacking in status and prestige.

Worldwide that idea is changing rapidly due to high youth unemployment and
the inability of an academic education to provide young people with the skills for
employment and self employment. Competency based education transmits
mastery of work-related skills and is designed for lifelong learning where skills
can be added to over time and as required.
Modular courses, which allow students to accumulate skills in stages, using
continuous assessment techniques can offer flexible access to students who may
need to generate an income at the same time. Modules are also well suited to
delivery over the Internet. BTVET provision in Uganda is still far from this.
4. Quality of Teaching and Learning:
Good Practices:
Primary

There are excellent, committed and hardworking teachers in all sectors who, despite
the challenges do excellent work and serve as models for their colleagues.
Designing, displaying and implementing class time tables according to MoES
guidelines.
Ensuring the making of schemes, lesson plans and implementing them,
Teachers make schemes of work and endeavour to make lesson preparations
All schools have qualified teachers or in-service teachers
Joint support supervision by headteacher seen in Alebtong District done at sub
county levels
The teaching of literacy and numeracy has improved in UPE schools
Members of school community (parents on duty) supervising and monitoring
teacher attendance and teaching/ learning process (e.g Olela Ps in Katakwi district)

Secondary
Ensuring that the day sections of their schools exist legally. Ensuring that
laboratories are equipped so that the teaching of science policy is affected.
Tabling lessons according to NCDC guidelines- government schools
Regular lesson attendance by teachers-mainly big private non USE schools.
Support supervision at school level done by a team of teachers as observed in
Agwata SS (Dokolo)
All teachers are allowed to have a child/ dependant at school sponsored by the
school (Lira Town College)
All teachers monitor and caution each other on teaching and learning in the
staffroom (Lira Town College)
Preparation of lesson plans seen in St. Mary's College Aboke.
Majority of public schools have fully stocked laboratories.
Teaching of Mathematics and Physics has improved where teachers attended
SESEMAT in-service training.
4

Challenges:
Teaching and learning across the sectors tends to be teacher centered and pupils are
passive learners who are over exposed to rote learning and memorization.
The design and creation of exciting, innovative, appropriate and resource efficient
instructional materials is an area that is poorly addressed.
Staffing level across the sectors are inadequate, untrained teachers are employed in
many areas which has a negative effect on standards.
5. Quality of School Management:
Primary

UPE funds received by primary schools are displayed, planned for, used and books of
accounts have been audited regularly.
Developing and implementing school improvement plans with the help of the key
stakeholders.
Submission of monthly returns to District/ Municipal Education Office
Identifying and warning indiscipline and non performing teachers (e.g Nakasongola).

Secondary
A majority of schools hold regular staff meetings usually at the beginning of the term
for planning and information purposes, which promotes the cohesion of the school
community
Internal support supervision particularly assessment of work covered is done.
Availability and functionality of school structures.
Availability and use of laboratories and equipment to teach sciences
There is a lot of vigilance by the PTAs to finance school development projects and
feeding students (e.g provision of pots for safe drinking water at Magoro Secondary
School)
Challenges:
There is a general failure across the sectors to make provision for school and college
based CPD to support teaching and learning through carefully planned programs of
support supervision.
A lack of discipline amongst both head teachers and teachers is causing poor
attendance rates and lack of punctuality among staff, which has a demoralizing effect
on the entire school community.
School performance reviews and the development and implementation of School
Improvement Plans are a challenge in many schools.
The quality of governing bodies is wanting.

Programs of support supervision and lesson observation should be negotiated and

agreed with staff members.
Enlightened school leaders should present a program to staff members, which they
can understand is not assessment and inspection but professional dialogue and
which receives their agreement and support.
5

The good practice of staff meetings should be extended to Year Group and Subject
Department meetings in order to promote a greater sense of ownership among staff
members and permit a focus on some of the micro management issues in the school.

Recommendations:
Programs of CPD for teachers need to be put in place to highlight the need for learner
centered teaching methods; and promote strategies which involve pupils actively in
their own learning and challenge them to think for themselves, to analyze and to learn
independently.
Schools should be more self-reliant and arrange school based CPD at their own
initiative using excellent local teachers to facilitate workshops and share their expertise.
Conclusions:
While there are challenges regarding the quality of school management, teaching and
learning processes in education institutions, best practices encountered during
inspection are a clear testimony that these challenges are surmountable if and only if,
key players found better innovative ways of executing their roles and responsibilities.
General Recommendations:
MoFPED and MoES should consider enhancing resourcing the inspectorate
system to support implementation of he revised inspection model that entails
Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) among others.
MoES should clarify and continuously remind stakeholders their roles and
responsibilities in the provision education services.
MoES should review guidelines for governing bodies in a bid to bring on board
members who have potential/capacity to govern education institutions.
MoFPED should reconsider funding to the MoES by basing it on pare capita
enrolment.
MoLG should ensure that LGs comply with guidelines issues by MoES from time
to time.
MoLG should ensure that LGs prioritize education in terms of resourcing.
Chief administrative officers should ensure that LGs prepare and submit
monitoring (DEOs/MEOs) and inspection (DISs/MISs) work plans and reports to
the Directorate of Education Standards (DES) in accordance with guidelines.
MoFPED should consider fully funding approved establishment in LGs to address
the inadequacy of school inspectors.
LGs should ensure that the UPE guidelines and DES inspection cycle are adhered
to.
LGs should ensure that education conference (EDUCONs) to review the quality of
education provision and come-up with strategies for improvement.
LGs should consider the quality of inspection of schools by inspectors and follow6

up on implementation of inspection recommendations by education officers as

focus areas for evaluating their performance.
LGs should consider enacting by-laws to stamp-out practices that impact
negatively on quality of education.
Making DES autonomous will empower the staff to fully execute the mandate of
setting and defining standards and the quality of education and to monitor the
achievement of such standards and quality to ensure continually improved
education and sports in Uganda.

Annex I: State of Quality of Education Report FY 2013/14

Sub-Sector
Characterized by

Primary Sector

Overall Rating

Pupils:
Low attendance rates average 64%.
Poor
Lower primary enrolment is high but dropout rates are high in upper primary especially for girls.
Completion rates for the school cycle average 50%.
Many pupils do not have basic scholastic materials.
Classroom learning environments are poor often with no proper seating especially at lower
primary.
Teaching:
Staffing levels are inadequate and untrained teachers are employed in most districts.
Teacher absenteeism is rampant and late arrival the norm.
Teachers morale is poor due to low pay, deletion from the payroll for extended periods, lack of
regard and respect for the profession, difficult working conditions and lack of accommodation.
Learning is negatively affected by teacher absenteeism.
Teaching methodologies are teacher centered and there is an over-reliance on testing.
Teaching methodologies do not challenge pupils to think for themselves or promote enquiry and
discussion between learners.
Teachers do not design, make and use appropriate and exciting instructional materials.
Corporal punishment and manual labor during class time is still rampant.
Professional development activities for teachers as a general rule have not been effective.
Management:
Weak school leaders who did not understand their roles and responsibilities were often
responsible for lack of improvement in the poor quality of teaching and learning.
Many schools rely completely on UPE grants and do not have viable income generating projects.
There was no evidence that head teachers supervised and supported teachers to teach effectively.
8

 Most schools do not conduct school performance reviews and prepare and implement SIPs.

Primary Sector

Community:
Most schools had SMCs but evidence of proper functioning was often absent.
Poor
In general there was inadequate supervision of school activities by SMCs.
There was inadequate supervision of school activities by SMCs.
Large numbers of NGOs and CSOs support schools through activities such as provision of school
meals and construction of staff accommodation, classrooms and toilets.
NGOs and CSOs tend to work in isolation from one another without consulting each other and
without coordination.
School Inspection by LGs:
There is a lack of teamwork between education officers at district level with regard to inspection
and little transparency in spending inspection and monitoring funds.
The small number of schools inspected indicates that inspection funds are not being properly
utilized.
There is lack of use of the proper standardized inspection tools.
The majority of inspectors do not spend quality time in schools preferring flying visits in order to
cover as many schools as possible in a day.
Poor quality inspection reports do not act as a basis for recommendations for improvement.

Sub-Sector

Secondary Sector

Characterized by

Overall Rating

Students:
Attendance was very uneven ranging from 30% in some classes and schools to 100% in non-USE Fair
boarding schools.
Ineffective teaching and learning processes and poor supervision and monitoring is leading to
declining performance in most USE schools.
Student achievement and performance in UCE has been declining in the last three years.
There is wide compliance with the requirement to involve students in leadership through prefect
systems. It is unclear whether there are effective protocols in place to provide channels of
communication and feedback between student leaders and management.
Teaching:
Teacher attendance varied widely from 20% to 100% and was related to the quality of the
monitoring systems in place and the efficiency of the head teacher in applying them.
Time-on-task for teachers was generally low.
Most teachers prepared and submitted schemes of work but many did not prepare lesson plans or
make provision for appropriate teaching and learning aids.
Science was largely thought as a theoretical abstract subject with little use of hands on
experiments. This results in poor learner performance.
The number of Science, Mathematics and English teachers is inadequate.
Real interaction between teachers and students is minimal; teachers, in general, do not assess
student workbooks or provide formative feedback through continuous assessment.
Many teachers are de-motivated as a result of low pay, deletion from the payroll for extended
periods or having been upgraded to GT but remaining on Grade V salaries.

10

Secondary Sector

Management:
Head teacher attendance is not easy to establish, 60% of them never register in attendance books. Fair
More than 80% of schools had systems for monitoring teacher attendance though there was little
evidence that the information was used effectively.
Regular staff meetings were held in schools but many schools lacked systems to ensure that
subject department and class meetings were held and that they made a contribution to teaching and
learning.
Less than 5% of schools had a monitoring system in place requiring, for example, the submission
of schemes of work with the Director of Studies.
Very few schools had a system of support supervision in place to provide support for high quality
teaching and learning.
Although the rates of support supervision and appraisal of teachers were low, even where it was
done it did not lead to school based Continuing Professional Development for teaching staff.
Attainment in USE schools is weak due to lack of visionary leadership with a focus on school
improvement and the teaching skills to ensure quality in teaching and learning.
Community:
Involvement of the community in the life of the school was a strong point in most secondary
schools.
Parents and community participate in school activities and contribute to school development.
Most schools, however, do not participate in community activities.
Only about 50% of schools had functioning Boards of Governors. The terms of some Boards had
expired. Some were in the process of formation and being submitted to MoES while others were not.
Many private schools do not have functioning Boards of Governors as required by the Education
Act 2008.

11

Sub-Sector

TIET Sector

Characterized by

Overall Rating

Teaching:
The new PTC curriculum is student centered. This requires tutors to adopt new teaching Fair
approaches where students participate actively in their own learning, undertake independent
research and work with peers. The tutor adopts the role of facilitator of learning rather than the
role of lecturer.
Continuous assessment is an important part of the new approach as it brings students and tutors
into more frequent tutorial contact and underpins the importance of timely work progression and
completion of practical exercises.
Tutors complain that the revised curriculum was launched with an inadequate number of copies of
the new modules to guide implementation. Some subject areas received no modules at all, these are:
Integrated Science Education, Social Studies Education, Integrated Production Skills and Agriculture
Education.
The four days used to orient tutors on the thirteen subject areas were inadequate to effectively
cover content and this is having a negative impact.
The four days were entirely inadequate to help tutors understand the importance of new
approaches to teaching and learning required in order to manage the change from teacher centered
to learner centered practice in their classrooms envisaged by the new curriculum.
The majority of tutors observed teaching continued to use traditional direct teaching
methodologies, mostly lecturing, where the teacher is the center of all classroom attention; there
was inadequate use of basic teaching aids except for the chalkboard.
PTCs seem to be under pressure from Kyambogo University to focus on testing and performance in
examinations in preparation for final examinations. This is at the expense of student teachers
capacity to develop the practical skills and competences that would enable them to be high quality
classroom teachers. Micro-teaching and peer teaching are underused as training strategies.
12

TIET Sector

Very few tutors prepare schemes of work and lesson plans. This is a serious matter since the new
curriculum requires tutors to prepare thoughtfully and carefully if they are to successfully promote
learner centered classroom environments, which promote active teaching and learning.
Fair
The learning environments in college classrooms did not show evidence of thoughtful or
innovative design and use of instructional materials.
College Infrastructure:
Classrooms in all of the colleges are inadequate in number and in size to cater for the large cohorts
of students.
Science laboratories in the colleges are rarely used for their intended purpose. Students are not
receiving practical laboratory experience and rely exclusively on theoretical instruction. Many
laboratories have equipment suitable for A level chemistry and physics but it is unused. Stocks of
expired chemicals in laboratories pose a health and safety risk and arrangements need to be made
to have them disposed of by suitably qualified agents.
Colleges have sports and playing fields but lack the sports equipment and other materials that
would enable them to be used to their full potential. Colleges also lack trained tutors to lead PE
activities.
The stock of books in college libraries is old and mostly out of date. There are few textbooks
offering access to current knowledge and ideas. Tutors and students are unable to keep abreast of
more recent research findings, which they might incorporate into teaching and learning. They have
no access to up to date reference books. PTCs do not subscribe to local or international journals.
All colleges have inadequate accommodation; staff accommodation in some instances, student
accommodation in others or both in many cases. In the case of some colleges insufficient suitable
dormitories limit intake of girl students.

13

TIET Sector

Management:
Principals and Deputy Principals are overwhelmed with administrative tasks; They rarely carry
out support supervision, mentoring or appraisal of tutors and non-teaching staff.
Fair
There was no evidence that colleges have put in place strategies to support implementation of the
revised curriculum. Very few colleges had included college based staff development activities in
their work plan to help tutors acquire the skills and knowledge to implement the revised
curriculum.
Tutors were not conversant with the use of continuous assessment as advocated in the revised
curriculum. They appear to perceive it as continuous testing rather than as formative assessment to
help students overcome difficulties and learn.
There was also a general lack of formative assessment and feedback by tutors through comment
and guidance in students notebooks.
Colleges cannot provide the materials required for effective teaching of practical work in subjects
such as Integrated Production Skills, Agriculture Education and Music Education and as a result
these subjects are often not taught properly.
Classrooms were often bare without copies of teaching timetables or displays of instructional
materials for incidental learning.
Weakness in management has resulted in over 75% of tutors not having up to date and properly
prepared records such as schemes of work and lesson plans in place.
Coping with the New PTE Curriculum:
Understaffing, lack of textbooks and reference materials for tutors and students are a serious
constraint on colleges as they implement the new curriculum.
Many colleges are asking students to provide materials themselves but not all students are in a
position to do this.
Principals have been advised to arrange college based CPD programs for tutors. This should
14

TIET Sector

involve the appointment of a tutor to coordinate the activity, agree and prioritize training needs and
identify suitable resource persons to lead workshops either within the college or from neighboring
colleges.
College principals are filling staffing gaps by recruiting secondary school teachers or university Fair
graduates with the required knowledge locally. This fills the gaps in the short term but is not a longterm solution because these recruits do not have the skills to tutor competent and skilled
professional primary school teachers.
College principals in CPTCs are employing some Coordinating Centre Tutors to return to the
college to help out with pre-service tutoring. These arrangements disrupt the outreach program
where CCTs should be in the field supporting head teachers and teachers.

15

Sub-Sector
Characterized by
Overall Rating
BTVET (Business
Whereas the male students constitute 60.1% of the year 1 admissions, against 39.9% of the Poor
female, at the time of completion, after 2 years, the female constitute 40% against the male
Technical
who drop to 60%. This implies that more males drop out before completion than the females.
Vocational
Off all the special needs learners, 55.4 %are males, compared to the 44.6 females, implying
Education
and
that the male learners still dominate even on the special needs admissions.
Training)
Very few institutions 34.1% have adequately stocked libraries and resource centers.
There have been efforts to rehabilitate and construct new facilities especially in government
schools, but workshops for some courses are still inadequate. In some institutions, new
equipment and tools are still unused because they were not installed.
There are 8.6% male instructors in government institutions not on pay roll, compared to 3.3
for females.
Females not on pay roll have better average weekly attendances (2.1%) as compared to their
counterparts who are on payroll (1.6%)
The head of institutions, though have a below average attendance during the first 2 weeks of
35.2%, it dwindles to 34.7% in the 5th and 6th weeks of the term, implying that sluggishness
tends to prevail in many of the institutions.
Most instructors have certificates 78%, and diplomas, 74% as compared to those 36.2 who
have attained degrees.
Poor and very little internal staff supervision, and very few internal staff development
programmers are being implemented
Only 1.4% of the institutions have PE instructors, implying that only 1.4% of the institutions
provide PE lessons.
Whereas 98.2% of the institutions have functional computers, in only 18.9% of the schools
are the computers used for teaching.
There is still very poor record keeping, in most 73.7% institutions.
Safety and Security policies are largely lacking and safety drills not done.

16

17