East African Members of Parliament want education curricula overhauled

Members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) have advocated the scrapping of some subjects from the EAC curriculums to allow students focus on a few subjects that are relevant to development.The members were debating a report on the harmonisation of the education systems among East African partner states at the ongoing session in Nairobi, Kenya.The idea of synchronising the education systems of the five partner states has been on the table for five years and members are advocating its fast-tracking for the benefit of East Africans.Once the systems are harmonised, all students will have the same curricula which stakeholders say will deepen the integration process.“When I was in high school, we studied subjects like European history where we learnt about Napoleon Bonaparte and other personalities. We also studied continental drifting in geography and surprisingly I wanted to be a lawyer,” Susan Nakawuki, an EALA member, said. She said she has failed to see how these two particular lessons can be applied in normal life.Nakawuki from a Uganda, urged the Community to look into regional curricula and redesign them to suit the needs of the people.History is an examinable subject in all the East African countries. Regional lawmakers believe such subjects add little to the development of the region.In a live-stream session attended by EAC Council of Ministers, Nakawuki urged the member to adopt the changes instead of spending a lot of time discussing it.“ I think this is the time to harmonise our systems,” she said.Celestin Kabahizi, from Rwanda, said it was crucial to harmonise the education content in universities to help public and private institutions.EAC Chairman, Council of Ministers Shem Bageine acknowledged the idea to harmonise the education systems, adding that in the next sitting in Kampala, the issue will be tabled for deliberation.He stated that harmonising the systems would spur the integration process and facilitate free movement of labour across the region.Steven Mugisha, a publisher and educationist based in Kigali, wondered why East Africa was still using the western colonial education systems that do not positively impact on the lives of the citizens.“For instance, why should our students study the French Revolution and not the Rwanda Patriotic Front’s struggle for liberation?” he asked.

National

East African Members of Parliament want education curricula overhauled