UNAS Programs

Education

Education Systems 2019-2020

The Ugandan education system has a history of excellence that has come face to face with the rapidly changing needs of Uganda and the global marketplace. These changing needs have left education systems poorly equipped to provide the intellectual tools to children and young adults necessary for success. For Uganda’s development to truly take off and remain sustainable, the systems that foster a culture of civic duty, intellectual excellence, and discipline will have to be well-engineered. With a more cohesive system from primary school, to secondary school and beyond, Uganda’s young population can be well-prepared to address the challenges of the future. To support discussions that could potentially transform ways our approaches to critical thinking, innovation, and interdisciplinary research, UNAS established a Forum on the Nexus of the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities (NASH) in 2018. The first publication to emerge from that forum was a regional study entitled Education Systems in East Africa: Creating Life-Long Learners for Development. This study was a collaborative effort of the Kenya National Academy of Sciences, Ethiopia National Academy of Sciences, and the Tanzania National Academy of Sciences focusing on the transformation of educational systems to balance the complex needs of the future job environment with consistent mechanisms for evaluating and encouraging intellectual growth.

Nursing Education – 2019

In January 2019, UNAS partnered with the University of Michigan to convene diverse stakeholders from nursing education to share experience and knowledge, network, and align and act towards a set of common priorities. The critical position of nurses in the provision of primary healthcare motivated the discussion because their quality and number continue to suffer in Uganda. With a more cohesive understanding of the nursing education environment, the possibilities for innovative programme design, delivery, and professionalism in work could be expanded. UNAS published a workshop report entitled The Future of Nursing in Uganda: Governing a Shared Vision. The report captured 5 challenges in nursing education: Limited financial capital and independence, insufficient nursing educators, poorly aligned and implemented nursing curricula and national policies, inefficient governance structures, and inaccurate student perceptions.

Following the completion of this workshop, UNAS supported a rapid national needs assessment for nursing education institutions, setting the stage for ongoing collaboration and discussion between nursing education stakeholders.