DIT’s Byakatonda kicked out as TVET assessment agencies brace for merger
The Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, has called on examination and assessment bodies in the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector to gear up for a planned merger under the ongoing education reforms.
Janet Museveni directed the governing councils, management teams, and technical experts of the affected institutions to work closely with the Ministry of Education and Sports to develop comprehensive roadmaps that will ensure a seamless transition during the merger process.
“I now task your respective governing councils, with the support of the management teams as well as the technical teams at the Ministry of Education and Sports, to collaborate and coordinate in coming up with clear roadmaps and milestones that will ensure smooth transitioning – and this starts with how the planning and budgeting for the financial year 2025/2026 is going to be done,” she concluded.
The Minister made the remarks while releasing the 2024 July-August Uganda Business and Technical Examinations results at State House Nakasero on Thursday evening.
Currently, four examination and assessment bodies play a key role in Uganda’s skills development sector: The Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT), Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board (UBTEB), Uganda Nurses and Midwives Examination Board (UNMEB), and Uganda Allied Health Examinations Board (UAHEB).
Available information indicates that UNMEB and UAHEB are set to merge into a single entity, likely to be named the Uganda Health Professionals Assessment Board, which will oversee the curriculum, assessments, and examinations for nursing, midwifery, and allied health training programs.
The Minister’s remarks come at a time when sources have revealed to our reporter that, since 2022, silent tensions have been brewing among the agencies slated for merger. Some institutions have been lobbying to be excluded from the process.
The most notable conflict has been between the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) and the Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board (UBTEB), with each institution arguing why it should not be merged under the other.
Patrick Byakatonda who has been heading Directorate of Industrial Training has already been kicked out and whispers are that there are no plans to reabsorb him. His roles will be taken over by Onesmus Oyesigye’s led Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board (UBTEB).
UBTEB and DIT will join to form the Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board, tasked with managing the curriculum, assessments, and examinations across a wider range of TVET disciplines.
Drawing lessons from the turmoil and infighting witnessed in other government agencies undergoing similar mergers under the broader Rationalisation of Government Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX) initiative, Janet Museveni, emphasized the need for a smooth and well-planned transition in the TVET sector.
The upcoming mergers are part of the ongoing reforms initiated by the approval of the 2019 TVET Policy. However, the Ministry must secure the passage of the TVET Bill, which will repeal the BTVET Act that established the affected bodies.
Once enacted, the Bill will also establish the TVET Council, a semi-autonomous body tasked with overseeing, planning, and executing the assessment of learning and functional competence for all TVET learners. According to Ms Museveni, the TVET Bill 2024 is making significant progress and is on track as the year comes to a close.
In a related development, the Minister noted that beyond the upcoming mergers, the government continues to implement significant reforms and investments in the TVET system, which are already starting to yield positive results.
“It is important that the TVET system builds resilience to withstand shocks occasioned by both natural and manmade disruptions. Therefore, it is paramount that the reforms in the TVET Sector strengthen capabilities for resilience to maintain continuity of learning and training amidst disruptions,” she added.
Eng. Silver Mugisha, the Chairperson of UBTEB, expressed his Board’s gratitude for the ongoing and upcoming TVET reforms introduced by the Ministry. He emphasized UBTEB’s readiness to collaborate with the Ministry to ensure continuous improvement in the TVET sector.
However, he urged the Ministry of Education to prioritize the development of the TVET Qualifications Framework as part of the sector’s reform efforts, highlighting its importance for standardizing qualifications and improving the overall quality of vocational education in Uganda.
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