National Teachers’ Colleges operate among the government aided tertiary institutions mandated to train quality teachers for the lower secondary and primary schools in Uganda. Over the years, Enabel has collaborated with the Ministry of Education to improve secondary teacher education by focusing on institutional, infrastructure, and pedagogical aspects of these colleges.  

In December 2018, the Government of Uganda together with Enabel set aside a total of 12m euros (approximately shs. 50b) to rehabilitate and construct the infrastructure in the National Teachers’ Colleges across the country.

The construction works were geared towards improving the College facilities and providing enhanced classrooms, resource centers and laboratories for both students and teachers that are well equipped to suit the needs of teaching and learning in the 21st century.

Two years later, Enabel is ready to handover newly constructed and rehabilitated buildings to the five National Teachers’ Colleges of Muni, Mubende, Kaliro, Kabale, and Unyama. During the inauguration ceremony that was held in November 2020 at National Teachers’ College Kabale, the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Janet Kataaha Museveni alongside the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium, Rudi Veestraeten officially commissioned all the buildings. These included sports facilities, accommodation facilities, dispensary blocks, administration blocks, laboratories, resource centers, classrooms and innovations that focus on creating safe learning environments based on the different needs of the College staff and students such as water systems, walkways, and Early Childhood Development (ECD) centers for new parents in the Colleges.

Enabel, through the infrastructure component of the Teacher Training Education (TTE) project, has put a lot of emphasis on creating a healthy functional learning environment that enhances the teaching and learning process. This includes:

• The architectural designs and infrastructural set-up that take into account several important factors that focus on innovation, sustainability, energy efficiency and the natural environment.
• Classrooms that benefit from sufficient natural daylight and a well-designed cross ventilation setting off the higher tropical temperatures without any artificial intervention.
• Developments that create a spacious and flexible learning environment for example classrooms with electricity sockets installed in the center to ease projector and computer use and writing boards and furniture that is easily repositioned.
• Creation of outdoor learning spaces that give room and resources to both teachers and students to explore different learning techniques and encourage creativity.

  During the inauguration ceremony, the National Teachers’ College Kabale honored the late head of the infrastructure unit of Enabel, Jan Van Lint by renaming its resource center after him. It now stands as the ‘Jan Van Lint Resource Centre’ in memory of his efforts in championing climate-smart architecture in East Africa and in all the Teachers’ Colleges in Uganda.  

Enabel has for nearly 10 years supported the improvement of quality of teacher education through infrastructure development and other initiatives. The fully commissioned buildings will benefit over 7,235 teachers and students in all the 5 National Teachers’ Colleges across the country.