By Weswa Ronnie
MBALE CITY
The National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) under the ministry of education and sports has identified nine local languages to be taught in the lower primary level in the Eastern region of Uganda.
This was revealed by Seezi Bogere, a research officer at NCDC while speaking to the media on Monday, 25th August, 2025 at Mbale secondary school during a one day consultative workshop.
He says that the languages were selected after a research study conducted from 2023 in districts such as Bulambuli, Busia, Tororo, Bukwo, Butaleja, and Kalaki.
“The study engaged various stakeholders, including religious leaders, cultural leaders, and local communities, to determine the most widely spoken languages in the region,” says Bogere.
He says the nine selected languages are: Lugisu/Lumasaba (Bulambuli), Lunyole (Butaleja), Dhopadhola (Tororo), Kumam (Kalaki), Lusamia (Busia), Ateso, and Kupsabiny (Bukwo) (Two more languages were not specified in the list provided but mentioned in the research context)
The NCDC research team, led by Enid Kamwire, will present their findings to stakeholders, including cultural leaders, religious leaders, head teachers, and District Education Officers (DEOs) from the Eastern region.
She says after gathering feedback, the proposal will be taken to the Cabinet and Parliament for approval before being passed into law.
Veronica Opendi, from the Tororo cultural institution emphasized the need for private schools to implement the local language policy if passed into law, as some private schools have resisted teaching local languages.
Lovisa Wankya, chairperson of the Dhopadhola Language Board, welcomed the research, stating that it will promote local languages and citing examples of countries like China and Germany that have developed by promoting their native languages.
