Dr. Kedrace Turyagyenda, the former Director of Education Standards at the Ministry of Education and Sports has registered her troubling experience with substandard textbooks currently being used by teachers and learners in schools.
Dr. Turyagyenda, currently a member of the Education Policy Review Commission, recounted discovering a chemistry textbook that had horrible errors and misleading content.
Dr. Turyagyenda, a former chemistry teacher, her concerns echo the frustrations of numerous parents and teachers who have long criticized the quality of textbooks, some of which are distributed by the Ministry of Education itself and bear approval marks from the Ministry of Education and the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC).
To ensure the quality of materials used in implementing the national curricula, there is an established thorough evaluation process.
This procedure is designed to confirm that educational materials are appropriate for use in schools and other educational institutions.
Materials submitted for evaluation include a wide range of resources such as textbooks, supplementary course books, and readers in various languages, reference materials, instructional guides, workbooks, inspirational materials, non-text materials, and digital content.
Dr. Bernadette Nambi, Deputy Director at NCDC, acknowledged the issue, admitting that the organization has indeed faced problems with textbooks containing significant errors and misleading information.
Dr. Nambi pointed out that the current evaluation process has its shortcomings: while many publishers and authors submit their materials for review, NCDC does not currently verify whether the recommendations have been implemented.
Additionally, NCDC lacks the authority to recall faulty books once they are in circulation.
By Our Reporter
5th Sept 2024
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