Perhaps at one point you wondered what the difference between good local schools like Nakasero Primary School or Greenhill Academy and international schools like Rainbow International or Kampala International School Uganda is all about. Why, for instance, should a parent take a child to an international school and not to a local one or vice versa?
Obviously, there’s the difference in the fee structures. International schools range between $2,510 (about Shs 5 million) and $9,488 (Shs 18 million) a year, while tuition at a good local school ranges between Shs 60,000 (for UPE schools) and Shs 2,700,000 a year.
But what else makes the two types of schools different and should these differences determine the choices you make for your child?
Bill Jager, the head of Curriculum and senior teacher at Taibah College School and Myfanwy Bolingbroke, the Public Relations Officer at Rainbow International School say the two school categories differ.
Jager, who has taught both the Ugandan and British curriculums, says the British curriculum is much better for students. (Taibah is the only international school that offers the option of a UNEB syllabus). He says it is practical, as students can apply what they study and it caters for students of all abilities, even those that are not very brilliant. He adds that it is more convenient for students because it offers them easier and faster access to university anywhere in the world.
This is so because when a student sits the Cambridge exams, they receive their certificate together with the results, unlike in Uganda where the certificates are sent much later. To be admitted to an international university, a student needs to have their certificate, making it easier for international admissions.  
Besides, a student who wants to access international universities after passing the UNEB exams would have to sit for the Standard Attainment Tests (SATS).
There’s also a difference with the two categories’ syllabi: international schools constantly update the syllabus, making it relevant to a country’s needs. In addition, it is lighter on the students, giving them a chance to engage in extra-curricular activities like holiday tours and sports.
This is unlike the Ugandan curriculum which is too heavy. Julius Kimuli, a teacher at St. Mary’s S.S. Kitende attests to this, saying it is not constantly updated and caters for only the bright students given its emphasis on academics and theory.
Dr. Daniel Nkaada, the Commissioner for Basic Education at the ministry of Education agrees that the Ugandan curriculum is heavy for students, adding that there is need for reform and shift the emphasis from relying too much on academics and embrace other fields like music.

CURIOUS OR STUDIOUS?

Curriculum aside, there are differences in the teaching methods. Local schools mostly use the lecture method where they almost spoon feed the students and encourage cramming. For international schools, use of discussion, discovery and excursion are the preferred teaching methods. Here, the students engage in the learning process, encouraging curiosity and learning by innovation.
Bolingbroke says if a student is the studious type, then a local school fits them best, while if they are the curious type, they would fit best in an international school setting.
When it comes to embracing all types of students, international schools are the better option because they offer a wider range of subjects. Bolingbroke says any subject is considered important because a child’s future may lie in, say, the sports or entertainment world.
Meanwhile, local schools think some subjects are less important than others. Some schools do not bother teaching subjects like Physical Education, music or swimming. So, if a student is not cut out for academics, they are at a loss in a local school. Nkaada, though, says this is being addressed by teaching subjects like Woodwork and Music, Dance and Drama to secondary school students.
When a child attends an international school and fails one subject or the equivalent of PLE, they are allowed to re-sit that particular paper they because the international system is not bent on showing that a student has failed but that they need more help in a certain subject. The local system will make a student that has failed one subject repeat all the subjects.
When choosing subjects to do at A-level, international school students are only constrained by the timetable and not fixed combinations. A student can, for example, do Biology, Economics and Literature because, as Bolingbroke points out, international universities embrace students that have diverse interests. A student can be interested in a science, humanity and an art. Meanwhile in Uganda, a student is offered fixed choices say History, Economics, Literature and Art (HEL/A) because our local economy expects specific professionals like doctors and not a wide variety that would include someone like a doctor- journalist.
International schools seem to be a better option for “mobile” parents such as diplomats and business people who are always on the move because the syllabus on offer in international schools is uniform across all countries.
It has been said, however, that parents with a penchant for showing off class prefer to take their students to international schools but Bolingbroke says that the parents she has talked to take their children to Rainbow because they believe they will benefit from the array of services and curriculum offered in an international school.
Some of the services offered at Kampala International School Uganda, for example, include sailing, ski-trips, horse riding, touch rugby, dance, drama, choir, orchestra, African mask making and visits to national parks. Most international schools offer more or less the same activities with some offering photography, creative dancing, golf, taekwondo and others.

DISADVANTAGES

From the above, it might appear as if international schools are the better option and local schools have nothing to offer. This is not the case. Some local schools like Kampala Parents School and Greenhill Academy offer some of the services offered in international schools such as swimming, learning of international languages and most schools offer sporting activities like football to their students.
Dr. Nkaada also notes that Uganda’s economy is more suited to an individual that attended local schools. This is because international school students specialise too early and would therefore find it difficult to be jacks-of-all-trades, something that Uganda’s economy needs. A journalist will be able to write on science because they did a bit of Biology and Physics at O-Level. Meanwhile, someone from an international school might fail to do this if they end up attending a Ugandan university which will not teach science to a Mass Communication student.
Jager also points out that if a student from an international school decides to join a local university, say, Makerere, they are at a disadvantage because their scores would be reduced. For instance, if someone scored an A in Cambridge exams, Makerere University will reduce that A to a B and this applies to all the subjects.
It has also been pointed out that international schools are too liberal, thereby exposing students to vices like substance and drug abuse. Bolingbroke wouldn’t commit herself to whether students in international schools are more “spoilt” than those in local ones but she says they have programmes tailored to dealing with such problems. She says students are told that vices like drunkenness and doing drugs are bad. This way, they hope that students will make the choice not to pick up the vices.

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