Implementation strategies of mother tongue education in Uganda: A case of Gulu and Kayunga districts

Abstract

Adopting and development of the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) strategy requires effective implementation strategies to assure curriculum development results. Mother Tongue Education (MTE) is one of the education policies readopted by the Government of Uganda as one of the strategies to improve literacy levels of learners at lower primary. This study explored how successful MTE has been implemented in Gulu and Kayunga based on three policy areas, i.e. community policy, personnel policy and materials and methods policy which were measured by community involvement in MTE implementation, teachers preparedness and classroom practices in the two Districts of Kayunga and Gulu. Descriptive survey was adopted using questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews to a sample of 30 respondents. The result revealed that MTE policy has been more successfully implemented in Gulu District than in Kayunga District and this attributed to the consistency in community involvement, considerably prepared teachers to implement the policy through regular trainings, adequacy of teaching/learning aids, and teaching methods. It was also revealed that teachers‘ class spellings and codeswitching differently contributed to MTE implementation success between schools in Gulu and Kayunga Districts. Teachers in Gulu appeared to be better equipped to handle and manage MTE implementation than their counterparts in Kayunga. Therefore, organizing comprehensive teacher trainings about MTE on a regular basis in all government aided primary schools is highly recommended in this study. The Ministry of Education should also sensitize the masses more about the essence of involvement in MTE implementation at school levels and schools like those in Kayunga District should endeavour to provide and /or lobby for adequate MT-based teaching learning materials.