Ethical implications of Uganda's education system on graduates

Abstract

This multidisciplinary study integrates religious ethics, theology, and education with other critical disciplines to examine Uganda’s formal education system and its impact on university graduates through the lens of Moral Theology—Judeo-Christian Ethics. It questioned whether the current formal schooling system provides an appropriate education to enable graduates to fulfil their Divine Mandate (DM) in Genesis 1:28: “Be fruitful, multiply, fill, and subdue the earth”—full potential. The study pursued three objectives: (1) exploring the philosophy guiding Uganda’s formal education system since independence and its implications on graduates’ Divine Mandate; (2) examining the system’s general purpose in relation to graduates’ Divine Mandate; and (3) creating a pathway for an appropriate education necessary for graduates’ realisation of their full potential. The study employed a convergent parallel approach under mixed-methods design across Uganda’s four regions: South-west, Eastern, Northern, and Central. Data collection involved diverse stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education (MoES), the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) officials, university graduates, employers, human resource personnel and coaches, secondary school leaders and teachers, parents, and educational NGO leaders. The study utilised questionnaires, interviews, and observational methods. Qualitative data underwent thematic, process tracing, documentary, and exegetical analysis, while quantitative data was subjected to univariate analysis. The findings revealed that Uganda’s education system lacks a unified philosophical framework, and stakeholders, including university graduates, expressed uncertainty about the general purpose and definition of education. This philosophical gap significantly impacts graduates’ ability to fulfil their Divine Mandate (DM) as outlined in Genesis 1:28. Based on these findings, the study proposes an innovative model for restructuring Uganda’s educational framework, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive macro-level educational philosophy to accommodate institutional-level philosophies while addressing the three fundamental questions of “Why education?” “Education for what?” and “For whom is it designed for?”