@article{NAMANYA2026,
title = {Reflections on Uganda’s Educational Philosophy: Towards a Paradigm Shift for Fostering Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Start-up Ecosystems in Higher Education},
author = {NAOMI NAMANYA and ANTHONY MUGAGGA MUWAGGA and NICHOLAS TUNANUKYE},
doi = {10.58653/nche.v13i2.5},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-05-29},
journal = {UHERJ},
volume = {13},
number = {2},
pages = {124--153},
publisher = {National Council for Higher Education},
abstract = {Uganda’s formal education system, rooted in colonial paradigms,
continues to produce graduates oriented towards employment
rather than enterprise creation. Despite over a century of
educational evolution, the underlying philosophy has not
sufficiently shifted to cultivate innovation, entrepreneurship,
and start-up ecosystems essential for economic transformation.
Yet, while existing studies have highlighted the absence of a
coherent educational philosophy in Uganda, few have critically
examined how this philosophical vacuum specifically constrains
the development of innovative and entrepreneurial graduates. This
paper addresses that gap by examining how Uganda’s educational
philosophy can be reimagined to foster innovation-driven and
entrepreneurial mindsets in higher education. The study identified
the philosophical foundations underpinning Uganda’s higher
education, and assessed how the available philosophy enabled and
constrained conditions for fostering innovation, entrepreneurship,
and start-up ecosystems. Using the qualitative approach, the study
adopted a descriptive and explanatory design. Data was collected
from a sample of eight key informants (KIs), three in-depth interviews (IDIs), and two focus group discussions (FGDs). The two
FGDs comprised university lecturers (UCU–Mbale Campus) and
teacher trainees (Gulu University). Participants were drawn from
the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), NCHE, research
organisations, and among educationists and university professors,
representing university administrators, policymakers, professors
of education and philosophy, education research organisations,
university lecturers, and teacher trainees. Higher education
stakeholders across four regions of Uganda were consulted in 2022.
The reflective interview guides were administered and analysed
thematically with descriptive and analytical methods. The study
found that the country lacks a coherent, explicitly articulated
educational philosophy and instead operates with an amalgam
of competing philosophical orientations. We argue that this
philosophical fragmentation, inherited from colonial educational
models that emphasised passive knowledge consumption over
active knowledge creation, fundamentally constrains graduates’
capacity to innovate and establish enterprises. The paper
contributes to the ongoing discourse on educational reform by
offering a contextual framework for embedding innovation and
entrepreneurship within Uganda’s higher education philosophy,
ultimately supporting the development of sustainable start-up
ecosystems that address local challenges while connecting to
global opportunities.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
