Title: University readiness for aligning teacher training programs with the 2027/2028 CBC mandate
Authors: Asiimwe Isaac Kazaara, Akampulira Sarah, Dr. Mategeko Betty
Volume: 10
Issue: 7
Pages: 187-196
Publication Date: 2026/07/28
Abstract:
The impending rollout of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) at the advanced secondary level in the 2027/2028 academic cycle in Uganda places new and urgent demands on universities responsible for pre-service and in-service teacher training. This study assessed the readiness of teacher training universities to align their programs with the CBC mandate, focusing on curriculum review status, staff exposure to CBC-oriented training, ICT infrastructure, institutional leadership support, and financial resourcing, and on identifying the factors that most strongly predicted institutional readiness. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, drawing a sample of 262 lecturers, heads of department, deans, and directors from public and private teacher training universities using stratified random sampling. Data were analyzed using univariate descriptive statistics, bivariate chi-square tests of association, and multivariate binary logistic regression. Overall, only 41.2% of respondents rated their institutions as ready for CBC alignment, with public universities reporting higher readiness (46.6%) than private universities (34.2%). Bivariate analysis showed that prior exposure to CBC training (p = 0.007) and curriculum review status (p = 0.021) were significantly associated with readiness, while gender, qualification, funding adequacy, and leadership support were not statistically significant at the bivariate level. After adjusting for covariates in the logistic regression model, exposure to CBC-oriented training remained the only statistically significant independent predictor of institutional readiness (adjusted OR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.12-3.31, p = 0.018), while the overall model was statistically significant (LLR p = 0.008) but explained a modest proportion of variance in readiness (McFadden's pseudo R2 = 0.063). The findings suggest that structural investment alone is insufficient to guarantee readiness and that deliberate, sustained staff development in CBC pedagogy and assessment is the most decisive lever available to universities in the run-up to the 2027/2028 mandate. The study recommends institutionalized CBC capacity-building programs, accelerated curriculum harmonization processes, and differentiated support for private universities to close the observed readiness gap.