UGANDA NATIONAL CIVIC EDUCATION POLICY
Civic education is one of the critical components
of democracy and a strong pillar of good governance. It enables
citizens to be appropriately informed so that they can
meaningfully participate and contribute to nation building and the
development of their communities. Civic education helps people get
actively and effectively involved in their governance by being
informed about how their government works, what their rights and
responsibilities as citizens are, what government officials'
obligations towards the citizens and the country are, what areas
of the political process are most open to citizen involvement and
what citizens can do to influence political outcomes. The more
citizens participate in government the stronger their democracy
becomes.
There is no generally accepted definition of civic
education nor is there widely shared content or curriculum to
address common themes and objectives and to guide on the
methodology. There are no standard setting or quality control
mechanisms; nor an information-sharing mechanism or coordination
framework for civic education programmes. Consequently, efforts at
civic education delivery have been inadequate, intermittent and
largely uncoordinated, hence the need to put a National Civic
Education Policy in place.
With Uganda aspiring to attain middle
to high-income country status by 2040, a policy-based National
Civic Education Framework is critical in the effort to strengthen
civic competency as an essential foundation for building a better
future, deepening strong socio-economic and political order and a
culture of constitutionalism.
A mechanism for effective
coordination of all civic education interventions will ensure that
civic education is continuous, countrywide, and inclusive and will
limit duplication of effort and resources.
This Policy is an
outcome of a participatory and consultative process convened by
the Uganda Human Rights Commission over a considerable period of
time going back to September 2011. A Working Group comprising of
13 institutions – 8 state and 5 representatives of
Non-Governmental Organizations Networks and Faith Based Coalitions
and the Media – was tasked by participants at a national
consultative meeting to formulate a draft policy that defines the
scope and objectives of civic education; the mandate, functions,
composition, powers and limitations of a National Civic Education
Framework; and to define the roles and responsibilities of the
different actors in civic education and their relationship with
the National Civic Education Framework. It was also tasked to
describe the nature and sources of funding for civic education.
The Working Group reviewed policies and practices in other
countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Gambia and South Africa. The best
practices informed the formulation of this policy, in particular,
the existence of a central coordination framework for civic
