Education

Govt starts phasing out 23 teachers colleges

Govt starts phasing out 23 teachers colleges

What you need to know:

The fate of 23 Primary Teachers Colleges (PTCs) across the country hangs in the balance following the move by the Ministry of Education to rationalise and re-purpose 46 institutions.

In a March 16 letter addressed to leadership of the PTCs, the acting Permanent Secretary, Dr Jane Egau, said the ministry has resolved to maintain 23 core PTCs, which are going to be turned into Teacher-Training Institutions (TTIs).

The balance of 23 non-core PTCs are supposed to be re-purposed for other education functions, which are yet to be discussed by the Ministry of Education.

The above changes are in line with the key reforms being implemented by the Ministry of Education of transiting the PTCs from certificate to diploma and later degree awarding institutions.

The National Teachers Policy, which was approved by Cabinet in 2019, stipulated that a teacher should have a maximum education qualification of a bachelor’s degree by 2031.

The commissioner for Teacher, Instructor Education and Training (TIET), Mr Jonathan Kamwana, last year told the Monitor that once the new policy is implemented, the existing NTCs that are currently teaching diplomas in secondary education and PTCs will start teaching degree courses.

“We shall then start phasing out the current diploma and certificate courses those institutes are currently teaching. This will be fully done in 10 years,” Mr Kamwana said.

This meant that the non-core PTCS would be turned into Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions for secondary or primary school but following the principles.

Dr Egua in her March 16 circular indicated that the Ministry of Education officials, sitting at the National Leadership Institute Kyankwanzi, on February 21 passed a resolution to rationalise and re-purpose the 46 PTCs for effective utilisation of available resources.

“In the resolution, it was decided to maintain 23 core PTCs and re-purpose 23 none-core PTCs,” Dr Egau said in her letter.

In this process, Dr Egua said Shimoni Core PTC will be repurposed into the main campus for the proposed Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education (Unite), while Sancta Maria PTC Nkokonjeru will be repurposed into a core PTC to take up the pre-service and in-service functions of Shimon.

Meanwhile, she said the option to re-purpose the remaining non-core PTCs will be agreed upon with relevant authorities. The ministry is slated to hold consultative meetings with key stakeholders to agree on options effective today.

“The purpose of this letter is to inform you about the decision, which was taken by top management, and to inform you that all substantive staff of the non-core PTCs will be redeployed to the core PTCs and other education institutions, as may be found necessary before next academic year,” Dr Egua said.

Dr Egua yesterday told the Monitor that the core PTCs are going to continue offering diplomas alongside the NTCs until they translate into degree-awarding institutions.

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