PRESERVATION AND PROMOTION OF INDIGENOUS MUSIC IN
UGANDA: A CHALLENGE FOR TERTIARY EDUCATION
INSTITUTIONS
By
Peter Ekadu-Ereu
M88/S001104
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
SCHOOL OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING A,RTS
DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC AND DANCI~
KENY ATTA UNIVERSITY
APRIL 2012
Ekadu-Bru., P.
Preservation and
promotion of
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11
Declaration
This thesis is my original work and has not been presented in any other University
for the award of any degree.
Signed \:.1\ ~~~' .
Date k.$. ~~....~:v:d ..j •• :<""O'I~ ..
This thesis has been submitted with our approval as University Supervisors.
Professor Washington Omondi
Professor of Music
Department of Music and Dance,
Professor Emily Achieng' Akuno
Professor of Music
Department of Music and Dance
Kenyatta University,
Signed ~ .
Date ~. b.! p..v.I.~o..l..4-: .
III
Dedication
I dedicate this work to my late parents Reverend Emeritus Israel Ekadu and Mary
Rose Aleso Ekadu, for having been supportive in all my endeavours.
IV
Acknowledgement
I am greatly indebted to my employers, the Management and Council of Kyambogo
University in Uganda, for giving me support and time to pursue doctoral studies at
Kenyatta University in Kenya. Further, I whole heartedly thank my supervisors
Professor Washington Omondi and Professor Emily Achieng' Akuno for their
professional guidance that enabled me go through this work.
My work would not have achieved its objective if it were not for the support of
music educators in the Universities, National Teachers' and Primary Teachers'
Colleges as well as indigenous music practitioners in the geographical area of study.
All of them were sincere respondents in this study. Similarly, I thank my colleagues,
the Academic and non-academic staff of the Department of Performing Arts at
Kyambogo University in Uganda, for the encouragement and support they gave me
in the course of my study.
I greatly thank my wife Florence Ogera Ekadu who tirelessly provided prayers, funds
and encouragement that enabled me successfully complete this work. I also thank my
children Joshua, Mary, Sam, Faith and other members of the family for their moral
and spiritual support and encouragement throughout my period of study. My success
is theirs.
vTable of Content
Page
Title page
Declaration u
Dedication III
Acknowledgement IV
Table of Content V
List of Figures x
List of Tables Xl
List of Graphs xu
List of Plates xu
Operational Definition of Terms XIV
List of Acronyms XVI
Abstract XV111
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
1.1 Background to the study 1
1.2 Statement ofthe problem 8
1.3 Research questions 12
1.4 Objectives of the study 12
1.5 Assumptions 13
1.6 Rationale and significance of the study 14
VI
1.7 Scope and limitation of the study 16
Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature 18
2.1 Introduction 18
2.2 Practice and promotion of indigenous music:
Pre-colonial era 18
2.3 Challenges towards practice of indigenous music:
The Church involvement. 23
2.4 Government involvement in the enhancement of
indigenous music from October 1962 to date 30
2.5 Major challenges in the practice and promotion
of indigenous music 34
2.6 Theoretical framework 44
2.7 Conceptual framework 54
Chapter 3: Methodology 65
3.1 Introduction 65
3.2 Research design 65
3.3 Target population and sampling 66
3.4 Research instruments and equipment 73
3.5 .. Validity and reliability of the instruments 76
3.6 Data collection 78
3.7 Data analysis 79
Vll
Chapter 4: Presentation of Research Findings 81
4.0. Introduction 81
4.1. General Information 81
4.2. Music educators' response to questions 85
4.3. Availability of human and technical resources 93
4.4. Engagement of the tertiary education institutions
in productive roles 100
4.5. New ideas achieved by the indigenous music practitioners
from programmes of the tertiary education institutions 103
4.6 Examination of music syllabi and facilities of the
tertiary education institutions 110
Chapter 5: Discussion of Findings 114
5.1. Introduction 114
5.2. Aspects that impact the capacity of music educators
to teach knowledge and skills of indigenous music 114
5.3. Relating music curricula of the tertiary education
Institutions to the task of the study 131
5.4. Availability of human and technical resources in
tertiary education institutions 142
55 Engagement of the tertiary education institutions in
productive roles 158
V111
5.6. New ideas achieved by indigenous music practitioners
from programmes of tertiary education institutions 164
183
183
Chapter 6: Proposed music learning model
Introduction
The government guidelines for curricula and
programmes of education in institutions of higher learning
6.3. Conceptual underpinnings of the Living Indigenous
6.1.
6.2.
184
190Music Education Curriculum
6.4. Guiding principles for the design of the proposed
curriculum and learning 208
Introduction
Summary
Conclusion
Recommendations
214
214
214
217
222
Chapter 7: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations
7.1
7.2.
7.3
7.4
References 228
Appendix I Map of Uganda showing the surrounding countries
and the geographical area of study
Appendix II List of indigenous musicians interviewed
Appendix III Questionnaire for Lecturers and Tutors of music
249
250
253
IX
Appendix IV Interview schedules for informants 260
Appendix V Opinionnaire for interview of respondents 262
Appendix VI Observation schedule for music syllabi and resources 263
Appendix VII Letters to and from the Ministry of Education
and Sports 265
xList of Figures
Fig 1.1: The FIME model of interaction 56
Xl
List of Tables
3.1 Universities, NTCs and PTCs in the area of Study,
which offer music 68
3.2 Number of respondents selected from the institutions
and districts of study 71
3.3. Equipment and their use in data collection 76
4.1. Gender distribution and designation of respondents 81
4.2. Respondents' work experience and highest qualification 82
4.3. Music educators' response to the statement of aspects
that impact their capacity to teach indigenous music. 87
4.4. Music educators' response to the statement about how
music curricula in tertiary education institutions relate
to the task of the study 89
4.5. Availability of human resources 94
4.6. Availability of technical resources 97
4.7. Engagement of the tertiary education institutions in
productive roles 101
4.8. Responses of the indigenous music practitioners 104
4.9 The nature of music syllabi and availability of facilities
necessary for indigenous music education in tertiary
education institutions 111
XlI
List of Graphs
Graph 1: How curricula relate to the task of promotion
and preservation indigenous music
Graph 2: Availability of human resources
Graph 3: Availability of technical resources
92
96
100
Xlll
List of Plates
Plate 5.1: Availability of indigenous musical instruments
in an institution 150
Plate 5.2: Some damaged musical instruments in an institution 156
Plate 5.3: A woman from audience joining in a dance performance 168
Plate 5.4: Budondo cultural group 175
Plate 5.5: Lwanika Bakuseka Maja women group 177
Plate 5.6: Muwewesi Xylophone group dancers 179
Plate 5.7: Muwewesi Xylophone group in uniform and
traditional attire during a performance 180
XIV
Operational Definition and Terms
Balangira - the princes or sons of the royal kings and chiefs of Buganda and
Busoga.
- clothes worn traditionally by women either as undergarments in gomesi
or a full length cloth covering tied around the chest above the breasts
and flowing downward to reach mid-way between the knee and
ankles.
Boda boda - a motor bike or bicycle used to transport passengers in Uganda.
Ennanga - the bow harp of Buganda.
Endingidi - the tube fiddle
Bikoyi
a root word with the prefix Ba for people, which forms the basis for the
word Baganda to refer to an ethnic group of people found in the
districts of Buganda. From the root word "Ganda" the noun Muganda
is derived and referring to people and even the name of the whole
Republic, Luganda as the language and Kiganda as the adjective
referring to any activity or thing associated with the Baganda.
Gomesi - traditional long female dress commonly worn during ceremonies or
Ganda
rituals.
Heart Beat of Africa - the name given to the national traditional musical
performance troupe that emerged between 1968 and the early 1970s in
Uganda.
xv
Indigenous Music - the music genres that were practiced by the natives before the
presence of colonial administrators and Christian Missionaries had a
negative impact on its performance.
Kadongo Kamu - the contemporary folk music originally designed for solo (kamu)
performance on what is regarded as a diminutive (or small) musical
instrument (kadongo).
Kanzu a white and long tunic worn by Basoga and Baganda males.
Mirembe gye 'ndingidi - the age or period when the tube fiddle, as a new instrument
was widely played in Buganda.
Musiru ddala ddala - a Luganda saying used to refer to a mentally slow or retarded
person.
Nalufuka - an indigenous dance form in Busoga
Oluyina - the fresh banana leaf used as a dancing sash tied around the waist.
Soga - a root word with the prefix Ba for people, which form the basis for the
word Basoga to refer to ethnic group of people found in the district of
Busoga. From the root word "Soga" the noun "Musoga" is derived and
referring to people, Lusoga is the language and Kisoga as the adjective
referring to any activity or thing associated with the Basoga.
XVI
List of Acronyms
'A' Level - Advanced Level, used in reference to senior six standard/level of
Education in Uganda.
CBS - Central Broadcasting Service, the radio station of the Buganda
Kingdom.
DCO - District Community Officer, responsible for orgarusmg cultural
development activities in the districts.
- Education Strategic Investment Plan
- Formal and Informal Music Education
- Joint Admissions Board in the Ministry of Education and Sports of
the Uganda Government.
- King's African Rifle, a troop of African men recruited by the colonial
government to participate in the Second World War (1935 - 1945)
alongside the British troops.
LIMEC - Living Music Education Curriculum.
MDD - The Department of Music, Dance and Drama at Makerere University
ESIP
FIME
JAB
KAR
in Kampala but derogatively referred as Musiru Ddala Ddala
meaning a person with an extremely slow or retarded mental ability.
MoES - Ministry of Education and Sports.
MoGLSD - Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development
NCHE - National Council for Higher Education.
XVll
NTCs - National Teachers' Colleges for the training of diploma or Grade V
teachers for secondary schools.
'0' Level - Ordinary Level, used in reference to senior four standard/level of
PTCs
Education in Uganda.
- Primary Teachers' Colleges for training of certificate or Grade III
teachers for primary schools.
XV111
Abstract
Preservation and promotion of indigenous music through generations has depended
on active practice guided by elders as the makers and practitioners of these genres of
music. However, the presence of European Christian Missionaries, colonial
administrators and Asian communities in the pre-independence period impacted the
culture, local music and education system of the country, and started the
downgrading of the practice of indigenous music. Such a negative attitude towards
the indigenous music coupled with various other forces of change have continued to
endanger the sustenance and existence of these genres of music if not conserved.
The continuity of indigenous music requires its active practice in the
institutions and communities where people live. This study takes the stance to assess
curricula and programmes of the tertiary education institutions so as to establish their
capacity and readiness to lead in the conservation of this invaluable part of Uganda's
heritage. Finally the study proposes a "Living Indigenous Music" learning model
with a philosophy meant to guide tertiary education institutions in redesigning
curricula and programmes for the enhancement of active practice, growth, safe
keeping and continuity of indigenous music.
A number of recommendations meant to involve various government ministries
to join tertiary education institutions in addressing the challenge have been
recommended. Some of these recommendations include, among others, research on
the brunt of over 20 decades of insecurity on the practice and preservation of the
indigenous genres of music of the Acholi of Northern Uganda. There is also need for
policy makers to organize intercultural gala, and redesign policies for the benefit of
preservation and promotion of indigenous genres of music.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Uganda is a land locked country in East Africa bordered by Kenya to the east,
Tanzania to the southeast, Rwanda to the south, Democratic Republic of
Congo to the west and Sudan to the north (See Map in Appendix I).
Ethnically the country is made up of 65 groups (Hansard, 2005; Ministry of
Gender, Labour and Social Development, 2006), each with its distinctive
culture, including specific music genres. Indigenous music of these groups
has largely been preserved and promoted through practising it. This implies
the indigenous music of Uganda in all its diversity is a very important asset to
her people.
The occasions for active practice of indigenous music in Uganda, in the pre-
colonial period, were through festivals controlled by elders who would give
skillful instructions and advice to performers for effective performance
(Kagimba, 1979). These festivals, which were organized by local
communities out of sheer enthusiasm, provided much stimulus for music
making (Hyslop, 1966) and opportunity for preservation and promotion of
indigenous music. Festivals have worked to both preserve and further
2develop indigenous mUSIC and performances (Ssempijja, 2009). Music
making is thus, a good mode of conservation and promotion of indigenous
genres of music.
Indigenous music is that which originated from the people before the onset of
colonial masters and handed down from generation to generation through a
process of oral transmission (Ekweme, 1988). Additionally, it is that music
whose idioms are culture specific with text in a local dialect and can be
identified as belonging to any of the country's communities (Akuno, 2005b).
The indigenous music and knowledge systems therefore represent both a
national heritage and a natural resource, which should be put at service of the
present and succeeding generations (Oehrle, 2001), and ought to be
developed, protected and promoted.
These genres of music represent Uganda's invaluable and rich music tradition
in the important rituals and affairs of life, like marriage rites, birth of twins,
last funeral rites, work, partying,. worship, recreation and royal court
functions (Cooke and Kasule, 1999: p. 7). Further, it is a utilitarian science of
the mind and society as well as a spiritually uplifting art (Nzewi, 2003),
which should be conserved from mutilation and extinction. It is therefore
important to document and preserve these genres of music as an important
3national heritage and a natural resource because according to Kyagambiddwa
(1956: p. 19) unrecorded music once lost, is lost forever.
The presence of European Christian Missionaries, colonial administrators and
Asian communities in the pre-independence period impacted the culture,
local music and education system of the country. It was in this time that the
European Christian Missionaries introduced formal education (Tiberondwa,
1998), and had full control of the schools they established (Digolo, 2005).
This education system and the missionary schools were later inherited and
controlled by successive governments at independence.
\
While introducing formal education, the European Christian Missionaries
either inadvertently or otherwise shelved the practice and promotion of
indigenous music as well as playing of indigenous musical instruments.
These practices were regarded by the Missionaries as evil and satanic (Agak,
2001; Muwonge et al, 1997). Such a negative attitude towards the indigenous
music affected its practice and promotion and as a result the music began to
die out gradually (Kasozi, 1979). This negative attitude was also instilled in
the minds of the learners in missionary schools, who became alienated from
their own cultures and music (Akuno, 2005). Christianity and its teachings
formed a new culture that was encroaching on the indigenous one. As such
4indigenous mUSICstarted to regress to stagnation due to lack of constant
practice and promotion.
Indigenous music was also faced with the challenge of lack of innovative and
imaginative thinking and practice required for a consistent vision and purpose
within an ever-changing world (Stephens, 2000). The hope for this
innovativeness, imaginative thinking and constant practice of indigenous
music only came with the introduction of formal music education in tertiary
institutions. The first institution for teachers, which was known as
Government Teacher Training College (GTTC) was established in Nyakasura
in 1948, then transferred to other centres and finally Kyambogo in 1954
(Hab'Iyaleme, Adupa and Mulindwa, 1998).
The Government Teacher Training College with an established department of
mUSICwas in 1964 upgraded to become the National Teachers' College
Kyambogo (Hab'Iyaleme et al, 1998: p. 10). In 1971 the department of
Music, Dance and Drama (MDD) was established at Makerere University to
oversee developments in music, dance and drama in the country (Makerere,
1972). Following the 1986 Kajubi Commission Recommendation, ten
National Teachers' Colleges were established in various parts of the country
(Ssekamwa, 1997). Each of these colleges had a department of music.
5Universities and colleges constitute two categories of tertiary education
institutions in Uganda which are the hub of knowledge and skills in all
disciplines. The introduction of music education in some of these institutions
brought a balanced curriculum concerned with contrast, approach and a
relationship between formal and informal music learning methods. This
provided opportunities for music educators to keep abreast with
developments in music nationally and globally (Kwami, 1996). It also
provided opportunities for the music educators to use their imaginative
thinking (Nzewi, 1998), to actively participate in developing, preserving and
promoting indigenous musical events in communities where people lived, in
an ever-changing world. These institutions are apt to face the challenge of
being at the helm of enhancement of indigenous music.
The largest ethnic populations found in the geographical area of study
comprise the Baganda and Basoga. The Baganda live in Buganda, in the
central region of Uganda, and the Basoga are found in Busoga, a part of the
eastern region of Uganda. This area covers a radius of about one hundred and
fifty (150) kilometres from Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. Within
Kampala city and the surrounding districts, and urban centres there is
multifarious ethnic, racial and cultural diversity (Ministry of Gender, Labour
and Social Development, 2006) and associated music. The two major ethnic
6groups stated above and the multifarious one in Kampala city reflect diversity
in terms of cultural and indigenous music practices, each of which needs to
be preserved and promoted.
Indigenous music is important for its integrative power that carries meaning
to the members of the community who acknowledge its value as they
participate in it. It is part of communal life that communicates within a given
community, and considered a very important way of conserving culture
(Chadwick, 2005), because it is invested with symbolic meanings, which are
agreed upon by members of that community (Muuya, 1994). This is true of
kingdoms within the area of study, whose people do not wish forces of
change or certain external elements to be assimilated into their genres of
music and culture (Ssennoga-Majwala, 2009; Ngobi Kopolo, 2007).
The concern of this study is the diminishing engagement in indigenous music
practice caused by forces of change that are endangering its sustenance and
existence. These forces of change emanate from interface and co-existence of
two or more disparate cultures thus creating hybridized or syncretic musics
through influences or elements from other cultures (Swanwick 1996).
Additionally, Allsup (2003: p. 9) contends that we are operating in a new
hybrid of experience where music is multi-sensory with styles like hip-hop,
7rap and others, which remain not merely as styles of music but a way of life,
a way of action that one may literally act out or perform one's own tastes.
Since indigenous music is practiced in a world where culture is dynamic and
not static (Shitandi, 2005), forces of change cannot therefore be avoided.
Attempts to freeze-out forces of change for long may result in losing valuable
knowledge which is vital to the quality of the community's life and culture,
now and in the future (Masoga, 2002). The study is therefore further
concerned about the readiness of tertiary education institutions in ensuring
that forces of change and indigenous music operate side by side and that the
former does not hold supreme power over the later.
Tertiary education institutions, being at the helm of learning, are placed in a
strategic position to contribute towards giving guidance in regulating forces
of change. The basic purpose of education being the survival of society and
creation of continuity of indigenous music and culture (Akuno, 2005b), gives
institutions the impetus to focus on learning that should regulate forces of
change and thus conserve these genres of music for posterity. Achieving this
requires equipping the institutions with appropriate curricula and
programmes designed for constant performance of indigenous mUSIC
(Stephens, 2000: p. 347; Petersen, 2000; Blacking, 1967).
8Furthermore, tertiary education institutions need to be equipped with
programmes for tape or disc recording and transcription which are equally
important for conservation of indigenous music (Senoga-Zake, 2000; Cooke
and Kasule, 1999: p. 16; Kyagambiddwa, 1955). Preservation of indigenous
genres of music can also be done by notation which requires tertiary
education institutions to use trained personnel with translational skills of
indigenous music (Akuno, 2001; Manani, 1966). Thus the focus on
evaluation of programmes, curricula and resources of the tertiary education
institutions became very important in assessing readiness of the institutions t6
teach knowledge and skills on indigenous music.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Although indigenous music is an impression, a work of art, a performance
and a human behaviour involving people with their communities (Akuno,
2004), its practice in Uganda is gradually weakened and endangered by
various factors. The factors include, among others, previous downplay by
Missionaries (Agak, 2001; Muwonge et ai, 1997: p. 14) who regarded
indigenous music as primitive, heathen and sexually leading to sin and
collective orgies (Katuli, 2005), and ought not to be practiced among
Christians. Another problem is that of music syncretism (Allsup, 2003
Tiberondwa, 1998: p. 20) that has resulted in creating and performance of
9hybridized music (Flolu, 2005) that emerged because of multi-culturalism
(Andang'o, 2005; Swanwick, 1996; Kwami, 1996).
Further, the practice of indigenous music is being weakened by the paradigm
shift due to people's newly acquired tastes and preferences in an ever-
changing socio-cultural environment. This kind of environment has been
caused by industrialization, globalization, urbanization and the interface of
the radio, television, video and DVDs, which are a great attraction (Okumu,
2001). External forces around the communities especially the political
settings of the day (Cooke and Kasule; 1998) normally compel people to
respond by recreating indigenous music to suit needs of few individuals and
thus negating the practice of indigenous genres of music.
Preservation and promotion of indigenous music faces a big challenge as the
genres of music are still confined within the ethnic boundaries and may
gradually be mutilated (Manani, 1966). Mutilation of indigenous music is
possible by use of modern electronic media such as radio, video and
television, which fascinate people and are irresistible powerful agencies for
mental conditioning and attitudinal orientation or re-orientation (Nzewi,
1998~. Modern creativity embodied in performing arts and Pentecostal church
music (Kalu, 2008) also poses a threat to the mutilation of Uganda's rich
indigenous music.
10
The problem is further compounded by either individuals or groups that
borrow cultures (Ociti, 1994), and resort to pseudo-professionalism by
encroaching into indigenous performance (Omondi, 1984), thus distorting
performance of indigenous music for commercial gains. Additionally,
people's religious beliefs and worship styles (Tiberondwa, 1998, Ociti,
1994), and especially in the contemporary born-again Christianity (Basoga,
2009) make them look at indigenous music with contempt and thus
endangering the very survival of these genres of music. As such, the
community's effective means of expressing and conveying its culture through
the performance of music and dance is gradually fading out and may be
mutilated or completely disappears if not conserved.
Scholars and stakeholders (Cooke and Kasule, 1999; Basudde, 1996;
Kyagambiddwa, 1955) have long had great concern and challenging demands
for the preservation and promotion of Uganda's indigenous music before it
becomes extinct. On a related note, Omondi (1986: pp.1 09-11 0)_raises a
concern that traditional music is in danger of being lost forever, since there
was and continues to be little opportunity for those familiar with it to pass it
on to the next generation. Furthermore, Senoga-Zake (2000: p. 10) contends
that it is important to preserve and promote indigenous genres of music for
posterity as a number of old songs and dance forms are gradually
11
disappearing. Similarly, Kasozi (1979: p. 64) points out the urgent need to
conserve Uganda's indigenous genres of music as the old people, who are the
store of music wealth, are dying. These old people are artists, the guide of
musical performances and keepers of memory of a community (Wa
Thiong'o, 2003), whose valuable knowledge may pass on with them if not
recorded.
Most of the indigenous genres of music are still confined within the narrow
limits of ethnic boundaries putting its survival at risk if not conserved. It is
also still dependent on the oral mode of transmission due to lack of
appropriate means of recording and promoting it for posterity (Manani,
1966). These concerns call for the involvement of tertiary education
institutions to lead the way in bridging gaps in music documentation,
production, technology and practice so as to set the stage for communities to
effectively protect, practice and conserve indigenous music.
The studies above highlight the magnitude of the problem, which needs to be
addressed. It also gives the all important need to preserve and promote, for
posterity, the uniqueness of various indigenous genres of music, and an
invaluable part of Uganda's music heritage (Cooke and Kasule, 1999: p. 8).
This study therefore sought to assess the content and objectives of music
12
education programmes and curricula and resources, for relevance and
adequacy in enhancing the preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
1.3 Research Questions
This study has been guided by the following research questions:
i) What are the aspects that impact capacity of music educators to teach
knowledge and skills in indigenous music?
ii) In which ways do the music curricula in tertiary education institutions
in Uganda relate to the task of preserving and promoting indigenous
music as well as engagement in related new roles?
iii) What human and technical resources do the tertiary education
institutions have for the task of enhancing indigenous music?
iv) How have programmes of tertiary education institutions benefited
activities of the indigenous music practitioners?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The specific objectives of the study were to:
i) Assess the aspects that impact capacity of music educators to teach
knowledge and skills for enhancement of indigenous music;
ii) Establish the ways in which music curricula in tertiary education
institutions relate to the task of preserving and promoting indigenous.
music as well as engagement in related new roles;
13
iii) Establish the human and technical resources available in the tertiary
education institutions for the task of enhancing indigenous music;
iv) Assess the significant benefits achieved by indigenous music
practitioners from programmes of the tertiary education institutions.
v) Advance a concept that should guide tertiary education institutions in
designing curricula and programmes for the enhancement of
indigenous genres of music.
1.5 Assumptions
This research was based on the assumptions that:
i) Although music is offered in tertiary education institutions to some
extent, it was not specifically geared towards enhancement and
promotion of indigenous genres of music.
ii) Tertiary education institutions have not played an effective role in
overcoming the challenge that threatens the survival and continuity of
indigenous music;
iii) Indigenous musicians are ready and interested in being guided by
tertiary education institutions to enhance the practice and
conservation of the genres of music they make and live with;
iv) Activities identified for the study are a true reflection of the role of
tertiary education institutions in the task of the study.
14
1.6 Rationale and Significance of the Study
The basis for this study is to focus on ways of actualization of active practice
and documentation of indigenous music as the main tool to address the task at
I
hand. Such a paradigm, developed and practiced in tertiary education
institutions, supports the process of preservation and promotion of these
genres of music. The focus of this study was to evaluate the programmes,
curricula and resources available in the institutions for the task of protecting
and enhancement of Uganda's rich indigenous music.
Approaches to indigenous music learning and skill development in Uganda
continue to proceed within rote, observation and emulation modes. Although
these approaches are based on the oral tradition of performance of vocal and
instrumental music interwoven with dance (Joseph, 2003), knowledge and
skills derived from these approaches are not adequate to form a basis of
facilitating promotion and preservation of indigenous music. It therefore
becomes necessary for this study to generate a framework to guide learning
activities and programmes so that they facilitate the task of the study.
The contributions of this study, are to:
i) Generate and posit guidelines for the tertiary education institutions to
use in the formulation of music education programme objectives and
15
design appropriate curricula relevant to dealing with the task of the
study;
ii) Contribute knowledge that enables tertiary education institutions to
employ appropriate human and technical resources needed to
overcome the challenge of the study;
iii) Generate knowledge that adds to literature on indigenous mUSIC
education and conservation in Uganda;
iv) Contribute knowledge that enables tertiary institutions to establish and
manage indigenous music audio arid visual archives and music villages
to enhance conservation of indigenous genres of music as an
invaluable part of Uganda's cultural heritage.
v) Contribute knowledge that enables the Ministry of Gender, Labour and
Social Development, charged with the overall responsibility for the
cultural affairs of Uganda, design and implement policies leading to
the encouragement and practice of inter-cultural exchange for effective
enhancement of indigenous genre of music and dance forms ..
vi) Advance a concept, which is the first attempt of its kind in Uganda for
providing a guide for the design of music education beyond the
dimensions of the recreational and extra musical.
16
1.7 Scope and Limitation of the Study
This study was focused on assessment of programmes, curricula and
resources of the tertiary education institutions to ascertain the role they play
as regards the challenge at hand. The study was conducted in the central
region of Uganda, covering the whole of Buganda and extending to part of
the eastern region covering Busoga. This area is within a 150-kilometre
radius of Kampala city.
Tertiary education institutions which offer music education in their curricula
and have been used in the study include 4 Universities, 3 National Teachers'
Colleges and 10 Primary Teachers' Colleges. These institutions are within the
geographical area of study. Districts within this area were also considered
appropriate locations to get the indigenous musicians used as respondents in
the study.
This study was limited to the indigenous ceremonial songs and dances of the
marriage rites, funerals, partying, celebrations of the birth of twins, various
rituals and coronations of kings and chiefs. They form the root or innate
indigenous genre of music, which is an integral part of culture determining
how and why the music and dance are made (Oehrle, 2001). The study
covered a target population of 350 respondents out of which the researcher
17
worked with a sample size 0[20% as recommended by Best and Kahn (2004:
p.20). Limitations in financial resources created a setback in the study.
18
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction
In this section, existing written works of vanous scholars have been
discussed with a focus on the preservation and promotion of indigenous
music. Thus literatures related to the study have been reviewed and are
presented here below under the following sub-topics:
i) Practice and promotion of indigenous music: Pre-colonial era.
ii) Challenges towards practice of indigenous music: The Church
involvement.
iii) Government involvement in the enhancement of indigenous music
from October 1962 to date.
iv) Major challenges in the practice and promotion of indigenous music.
v) Theoretical framework.
vi) Conceptual framework.
2.2 Practice and promotion of indigenous music: Pre-colonial era
Every ethnic group in Africa in general and Uganda in particular, has had its
own different and specific cultures and music genres that originated from the
people. These have been practiced and passed on in oral tradition from one
19
generation to another (Stephens, 2000, p. 367), before the European
foreigners came to influence them. Oral tradition, which plays a significant
role in African pedagogy is just as reliable as a written tradition and is
essentially derived from an inter-relationship with the universe regarded by
the traditional society as factual and constant (Amoaku, 1982). The use of
oral tradition in African pedagogy applies to Uganda's multifarious ethnic
groups with their music cultures and genres, which provide identity and a
sense of community ownership. These indigenous music genres also reflect a
rich multicultural community where aspects of heritage ought to be preserved
and promoted, hence their focus in this study.
Before any foreign influence and more so the introduction of formal
education the indigenous forms often referred to as informal or non-formal
education existed in Uganda (Tiberondwa, 1998). According to Kamenyi
(1977: p. 46) non-formal education was geared towards equipping members
of the tribe with knowledge about the environment and how to cope with it.
As such what was taught or learned grew out of the social situations. Thus the
non-formal education based on ethnic or clan units covered both the
theoretical and practical fields of music. Each ethnic group has had its own
system of music education, which according to Nzewi (1998: p. 457) was the
responsibility of the indigenous musician in maintaining and extending
20
standards and repertory. Responsibility of the indigenous musician in
informal music education was to ensure that young members of a community
attained growth of personal talents through composition of songs, riddles and
proverbs to serve the communities and societies in which they lived
(Tiberondwa, 1998: p. 5).
On a related note to the views stated above, Akuno (2002: p. 60) explains that
music learning in Africa has traditionally been through apprenticeship where
the young learnt knowledge and acquired skills through watching and
listening to a master, then imitating. Creativity in music was encouraged so
that no two performances were ever alike (Darkwa, 1980). In this way
indigenous music was alive, dynamic and hence preserved and promoted
through active practice and involvement of both the young and older persons
working together. Narrating an experience on the same view, Wachsmann
(1956: p. 97) describes how an expert Muganda craftsman and musician
remarked with bitterness that his son was a child of the mirembe
gy 'endingidi', which he mastered better than his famous ennanga. Thus the
old required the young to learn, inherit, preserve and promote the elders'
knowledge and skills.
In reference to the age or period when the tube fiddle, as a new musical instrument in
Buganda was widely played.
21
The above discussion on mode of informal indigenous music practice and
promotion shows that it was different from the modern age of formal music
education with a group of teachers that carry different responsibilities
(Farrant, 1982). It would be good for these responsibilities to be well
packaged and passed on to learners to enable them develop knowledge and
skills they are already endowed with. Doing so would make learners actively
practice indigenous music. But the situation is, however, different as learners
are faced with the challenge of being exposed to diverse music styles and
materials from other cultures other than their own (Katuli, 2005). The views
above support the need for this study to assess the capacity, curricula,
programmes and readiness of tertiary education institutions to meet the
challenge of enhancing growth and continuity of indigenous mUSiC,
comparable to the early informal one.
Within each ethnic group, the adults who made and played various musical
instruments taught relevant skills and knowledge to children who readily
learnt and applied what they were taught (Ssekamwa, 1976; Asante, 1995).
What was learnt was applied during the various ethnic functions, each of
which usually signifies some occasion, situation or feeling (Petersen, 2000).
To achieve the societal objectives of music education Akuno (2005b: p. 13)
points out that the young musician often associated himself with the older
22
specialist indigenous music practitioners until he could learn how to play the
instrument and move off to perform on his own or create his own ensemble.
These views show that informal music education had specific programmes
that required one to learn from the elders so as to preserve and promote
knowledge and skills of indigenous genre of music.
Besides the teaching of knowledge and skills in the making and playing of
various musical instruments, music performances were also carried out.
Music was performed during happy occasions from which society benefited,
as well as occasions of grief, which helped the society to cope with a trying
situation (Akuno, 2005b: p. 13). In succinctness, these practices show that
music was a lived and an ever-promoted activity in the community (Nzewi,
1998).
Indigenous musical skills and practice became a meaningful way of life
learned by people as and where they lived in the pre-colonial era. There were
no external forces that could restrict people's freedom to practice their genres
of music. These views augur well for this study, which recognizes the value
and need for tertiary education institutions to have programmes compatible
with the need to preserve and promote indigenous music.
23
2.3 Challenges towards practice of indigenous music: The Church
involvement
The coming of European Christian Missionaries to Uganda in 1877 marked
the beginning of formal education (Tiberondwa, 1998: p. 16). This was an
opportunity to strengthen informal music education so as to provide a
platform to develop and preserve indigenous music. Unfortunately, the
Christian Missionaries declared the indigenous music and dancing as
provocative and inappropriate for Christians (Mapoma, 2001). Indigenous
music was also regarded as intertwined with pagan customs that should be
forgotten completely and replaced with Christian music (Kasozi, 1979: p.
64). Thus the traditional cultural set up of different Ugandan societies was
transformed causing people to discard their cultural values and imitate
Europeans in manners of worship, marriage, eating, walking dancing,
dressing and even talking (Tiberondwa, 1998; Nzita et al, 1995). Scenarios as
described above minimized opportunities for indigenous music practice and
promotion.
To advance and cement their intention of promoting Christian music and
erasing the indigenous genres from the minds of the converts, missionaries
engaged the native communities in regular singing of hymns and Western
folk songs (Muwonge et al, 1997). Further, the missionaries thought the
24
singing of hymns and other church musical activities was necessary for the
growth and expansion of the church (Flolu, 2004). Hymns and other songs in
Western idiom replaced the dancing, playing of instruments and singing of
traditional songs (Katuli, 2005). As such church choirs were formed
(Muwonge et al, 1997: pp. 11-12) and music literacy consisting of solfa
notation by the Protestant missionaries and staff notation by the Catholic
missionaries were introduced to converts. They also often sung hymns that
were translated into local languages (Taylor, 1958). Translation of the hymns
in the local language distorted the phonetics of Luganda, making
pronunciation of words meaningless (Kyagambiddwa, 1955; Wachsmann,
1956).
If indigenous music text is translated with an unmodified Western notation
system, and according to Western aesthetic priorities, it makes the indigenous
music literally lose something in the translation (Carver, 2003). On a related
note, Akuno (2005b: p. 41) asserts that when songs are translated from one
language to another, both the rhythm and melody tend to get altered. This
developed into what became variously known as "Western-derived African
music", "hybridized" or "syncretic" music (Flolu. 2004: p. 169), which was
neither purely western nor traditional (Muwonge et al. 1997: p. 13). It also
endangered the preservation and promotion of indigenous music through
25
active practice. The scenanos stated above are not different from today's
performance of indigenous music, instruments and dance in western style,
which is not culturally compatible. All the above views made it necessary for
this study to seek to assess the capacity of tertiary education institutions in
giving guidance to address these mishaps.
The European Christian Missionaries further introduced the school curricula
(Flolu, 2004: p. 167) in the High Schools they established (Tiberondwa,
1998; Muwonge et al 1997), where formal education was strengthened.
These High Schools were meant for the "balangira" and highly placed people
in society. There were also mission schools to accommodate every other
child (Tuma, 1980). Thus Christian religion and education were considered
movements for creating new types of personalities that disentangled
themselves from what was considered oppressive, immoral and universive of
ethnicity (Digolo, 2005: p. 95). On a related note, Mbiti (1976: p. 6) contends
that the schools established by missionaries became nurseries of change
where those attending school became the vehicle of carrying the new changes
to their villages.
Curricula of the schools established and controlled by missionaries comprised
of, among others, arithmetic, music, Christian instruction and practice
26
(Ssekamwa, 1997: p. 41). In this regard Tiberondwa, (1998: p. 62) contends
that
the music taught following this curriculum were mainly parody of
familiar European hymns and choruses of unintelligible sounds in
the sing-song of the syllables as they follow one another in
meaningless succession.
When students who learnt these songs and hymns left the boarding high and
mission schools and returned home for holidays, they began to show
discomfort with their indigenous music (Akuno, 2005b). Thus the church
instituted a system that challenged the practice and enhancement of
indigenous music.
The views stated above paint a bleak future for the survival of indigenous
music in Uganda. Teaching of songs with "unintelligible, meaningless
syllables" implied the imparting of music education which would not satisfy
personal needs of the learners (Tiberondwa, 1998: p. 64), neither help them
develop their musical talents (Andang'o, 2005). It therefore meant the
building of a very shallow and weak foundation of formal music education.
Having a weak foundation of formal niusic education was evident in the lack
of music-learning centres. Even Makerere, which was the highest learning
institution in Uganda, did not have a department of music by the 195as
(Moon, 1971). In this regard Hyslop (1966: p. 38) asserts that in Uganda
27
there has been little western music, which has too often been of the wrong
kind. The views stated above point at the developments that posed a danger to
the practice and promotion of indigenous music. They form the basis for this
study to establish the preparedness of tertiary education institutions in their
attempts to deal with the challenge and avert the endangered practice and
continuity of indigenous genres of music.
Schools that were not established by the missionaries had their own curricula,
which were different from those designed on Christian tenets. As such
Makerere College School tried to teach indigenous music but found it
difficult to sustain the lessons (Kasozi, 1979: p. 21). This happened because
within the context of education, as opposed to learning, music is not just a
subject but a way of life, a reflection and expression of culture and a society's
mouthpiece (Akuno, 2004). Failure of Makerere College School to sustain
indigenous music lessons arose from the fact that it was being taught as a
subject. Thus the way of life of converted learners, which had now changed,
could not accommodate the learning of indigenous music.
A similar situation to the above was at Jeanes School in Kenya where
Wamunyu (1999: p. 26) explains that as a result of previous mission
education, African students had been taught that their traditions were
uncivilized and they therefore felt they were being offered an inferior
28
education in this school. These studies show that the introduction of music in
the formal education curriculum weakened the informal music learning and
practice. It also caused the stagnation of practice and enhancement of
indigenous genres of music. Thus, the focus is on tertiary institutions as
givers of formal music education who are well placed to face the challenge of
designing programmes that can strengthen indigenous music education and
hence its preservation and promotion.
The practice of Western Christian music was enhanced with the introduction
of the Namirembe Church Music Festival in 1929 (Kagimba, 1979: p. 8).
According to Muwonge et al (1997: p. 15), the Namirembe Church Music
Festival was, however, later used to encourage and promote works of
Ugandan musicians so as to help them improve the standard of their works.
Despite the downgrading of indigenous music, opportunity was now provided
for its development and promotion. This was an intervention by Wachsmann
who felt that indigenous people were being misled to think that their own
music was something unsuitable and undesirable for Christians (Muwonge et
al, 1997: p. 15).
The intervention by Wachsmann was an opportunity to strengthen indigenous
music. However, it came too late to change the attitude of people who had
29
been entrenched into Christianity to date. What they have now done is to
have an assimilation between Christianity and indigenous customs and thus
secularization of "sacred' music, which has become prominent in Kampala,
the capital city of Uganda (Basoga, 2009). This has created lots of debate as
to whether it is hymns or traditional music or contemporary styles referred to
as "disko fa Yesu", which should be considered appropriate for the church
(Kameli, 2009).
All the above stated developments have become a detriment to the practice of
indigenous music in that every function among the urban or rural
communities is now full of recorded religious music or that of the
contemporary local artists (lsabirye, James. 2009). There is hardly any
performance of "embaga" dance in Buganda during marriage ceremonies,
singing of funeral dirges when death occurs and many other traditional
ceremonies and rites (Ssennoga-Majwala, interview on 10th September,
2009). There is need for music educators to design programmes suitable to
re-orient people's attitudes and steer the enhancement of indigenous music.
This study is thus focused on assessing programmes, curricula and the
capacity of music educators in regard to, their readiness to deal with the
challenge of preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
30
2.4 Government involvement in the enhancement of indigenous music from
October 1962 to date
Soon after attainment of independence on 9th October 1962, the Government
of Uganda took control of the education system and set up measures to
Africanize the curriculum (Ssekamwa, 1997: p. 34). The Africanization of the
curriculum was done by introduction of the teaching of subjects that stresses
the Ugandan background and situation like music and the arts (Kasozi, 1979).
This was aimed at creating African identity and African personality
(Ssekamwa, 1997: p. 37).
A similar influence in this direction is what Cooke and Kasule (1999: p. 9)
discuss as the decision in 1968 to start instrumental music teaching in schools
that provided the option of performing on Ugandan instruments in the
curriculum examinations. These steps show the Government's attempts to
revive the once lost glory of Uganda's rich music, hence this study to assess
if, and to what extent the tertiary education institutions have attempted to deal
with the challenge by initiating programmes to develop and promote
indigenous music.
The government made further attempts to promote indigenous mUSIC
performance in 1968, by creating the Heart Beat of Africa Troupe, composed
31
of multi-cultural Ugandan indigenous musicians (Ministry of Culture and
Community Development, 1969). This troupe initiated enhancement of
indigenous music by actively practicing it. Unfortunately, the turbulent
period of the military government between 1971 and 1979 destroyed all these
efforts and led to cessation of many educational projects and cultural
activities including the disintegration of the Heart Beat of Africa troupe
(Ssekamwa, 1997: p. 48). A similar attempt in the promotion of indigenous
music by the government was made in South Africa with the establishment of
the Traditional Music Working Group to develop strategies to collect,
preserve and develop indigenous music and capacity for research in
indigenous music (Petersen, 2000: p. 330).
The above findings highlight strategies and attempts made by the government
towards the enhancement and promotion of indigenous music. Tertiary
education institutions should work. in synergy with the Government to
emulate strategies of the Traditional Music Working Group in South Africa
and any others elsewhere. Emulating such well designed strategies should
enable them promote a range of cultures and traditional practices within
unsuitably defined, colonially imposed boundaries (Flloyd, 2001: p. 14). In
view of the above stated revelations, this study sought to assess programmes,
32
objectives, curricula and capacity of the tertiary education institutions to deal
with the challenge of preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
Since 1987, the Government of Uganda has been organizing Uganda music
festivals following given themes treated in new classes like indigenous music
composition and creative dance, beside other classes of traditional items that
have been in existence (Othieno, 2000). The festivals also give school choir
trainers opportunities to re-arrange and refine the existing indigenous music,
which is re-composition in performance (Flolu, 2005). Composition of
indigenous tunes by individuals other than groups of people is a welcome
development that could encourage practice and growth of indigenous genres
of music.
However, the developments that expose mUSIC and dance cultures to
competition, as stated above, result in distorting them. Some scholars may
prefer to view cultural music and dance competitions as development, yet in
essence they create a hybrid of performance styles (Akuno, 1997: p. 58). This
is true of competitions organised without clear objectives. Such competitions
result in distortion of indigenous music instead of encouraging its growth and
promotion because of the urge to win. With regard to the Kenya Music
Festival, Akuno (2005b: p. 29) asserts that it has resulted in traditional
33
performances being more mechanical than artistic with the graceful steps,
body movements and formations no longer visible. If the trend of music
competitions is not therefore well guided by tertiary education institutions,
adoption of unauthentic performance styles would be entrenched in
indigenous music performances in a bid to win. These views pave the way for
this study to assess programmes of the institutions to ascertain their readiness
to avert the challenge.
In its further attempts to promote cultural activities, the Government through
the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MoGLSD)
developed and published the Uganda National Cultural Policy in 2006. One
of the specific objectives of this policy is the need to conserve, protect and
promote Uganda's tangible and intangible cultural heritage (Ministry of
Gender, Labour and Social Development, 2006). All the practices associated
with music and dance like rituals, festive events, oral traditions, traditional
craftsmanship, social practices among others, are hereby referred to as the
intangible cultural heritage (MoGLSD, 2006: p. 13). The Uganda National
Cultural Policy stated above does not, however, provide guidance on the
implementation of its stated objectives. This calls for the involvement of
tertiary education institutions as active partners in the Uganda National
34
Cultural Policy so as to preserve and promote indigenous music, hence the
need for this study.
2.5 Major challenges in the practice and promotion of indigenous music
The biggest challenge towards the preservation and promotion of indigenous
music in Uganda today is the interface of the radio, television and video,
which are a great attraction (Manuel, 1988; Okumu, 2001). There are
currently over 100 Frequency Modulation (FM) radio stations in Uganda, all
of which promote contemporary local artistes' neo-folk kadongo kamu and
jazz music (Isingoma, 2006). This leaves no room for promoting indigenous
music through these radio stations unless payment is made for playing the
music on air. Central Broadcasting Station (CBS), the radio station of the
Buganda kingdom and Wavamuno Broadcasting Services (WBS) television
have programmes designed and aired for the promotion of the culture and
indigenous music of Buganda (Ssennoga-Majwala, interview on io"
September, 2009), albeit for brief moments in each designated period of the
programme.
Indigenous music is rarely played in these numerous FM radio stations, as
there are no commercial gains in it compared to that of the local artistes
(lsabirye Joel, 2009). Commercialization and over-abundance of popular
35
foreign and non-indigenous music on FM radio stations creates a problem of
promoting these genres of music. If this scenario is not checked it creates the
problem of influencing the minds and morals of the listeners and especially
the children who spend most of their time before television sets and radio
(Andang' 0, 2009).
Whereas the establishment and licensing of multifarious FM radio stations in
Uganda could have provided an avenue of making indigenous genres of
music exposed, preserved and promoted, this has not been the case. This
scenano IS a challenge that calls for involvement of tertiary education
institutions III designing programmes to make radio presenters and
stakeholders aware of the need for enhancement and promotion of indigenous
music against multiple challenges. Further, the establishment of many private
universities in Uganda creates a nascent challenge of competition for
academic staff for delivery of quality higher education (Nakanyike and
Nansozi, 2003).
The above scenario possibly makes the tertiary education institutions, with
music education in their curricula, fail to get appropriate personnel. The
personnel needed should be able to design and handle appropriate music
curricula and programmes that cater for the knowledge and skills for
36
indigenous music performance, preservation and promotion. However, it is
not an excellent music curriculum that largely matters, but an excellent music
teacher in action at the helm of music education (Elliot, 1995). This ought to
be a knowledgeable and practical teacher who, given the current atmosphere
of competition for personnel, may not easily be found.
In another view Hargreaves (1994: p. 216) points out that a good music
education curriculum ought to contribute to intellectual, emotional, sensory-
motor and social development. This kind of curriculum should not only
provide students with rich knowledge, but also prepare them for the remote
future and more importantly, to enhance the significance of the value of life
(Yule, 2004). Thus dynamism is the key to curriculum development, owing
to the fast-changing trends in music necessitated by influences such as
globalization, among others (Elliot, 1995) It is therefore important for this
study to assess the relevance of curricula of tertiary education institutions in
addressing the challenge at hand.
Music education in tertiary education institutions may also be linked to what
Swanwick (1979: p. 54) in his view refers to as an organized and formalized
education with shortcuts to arrive at knowledge that is easy to teach from
books, and which can be assessed through examinations and lectures. Finding
37
knowledge that is easy to teach from text books is something that stems from
attitudes of music educators who may always look for short-cuts. In this
regard, it is worth noting that the success of a curriculum depends to a great
extent on the attitudes and training of the teacher besides current trends in
education (Campbell and Scoff-Kassner, 1995). This makes it important to
encourage the teacher trainees to have positive attitudes and embrace the fact
that they are first musicians before they make the decision to be music
teachers (Wanjala, 2005).
Besides having positive attitudes, the success of a curriculum also calls for
content that engages both the learners and teachers in music making. In this
regard, Petersen (2000: p. 332) asserts that
The three Historically Black Universities, established during the
time of apartheid in South Africa overcame the problem of attitude
and training through use of curricula designed to preserve and
promote local music by actively engaging in its performance.
On a related note music education in Ireland has according to Suilleabhan
(2005: pp. 30-31), been successfully designed to integrate traditional music
and musicians within her seven University systems without compromising
the music. Such views also make it important for tertiary education
institutions to put in place music curricula that should not be compromised by
poor attitudes of the music educators and other stakeholders.
38
In its attempt to promote acquisition of music education knowledge and skill
development, Makerere University developed a new music education
programme. It is a programme designed to enable talented musicians with a
minimum requirement of completion of senior two level of secondary
education enroll for a diploma course in music education (Muhumuza, 2005).
This programme is not specific to knowledge and skills in indigenous music.
It was also designed in disregard of the education system in Uganda, which
requires a student to go through seven-four-two (7-4-2) system of education
before joining a tertiary institution (Uganda Government White Paper on
Education, 1992).
Makerere's new programme of music education is, however, a step towards
offering general knowledge in music education. It should eventually cause a
change in behaviour of the recipients of this knowledge and lead them to
become specialist musicians. Thus education is only successful if the
knowledge, skills and attitudes gained are used thereby eliciting a change in
behaviour (Akuno, 2003). This study was necessary in the assessment of the
capacity and competence of the curriculum deliverers in tertiary education
institutions to establish whether they are capable to deal with the challenge of
conservation and continuity of indigenous genres of music.
39
The problem of failure to manage a good music curriculum may largely be
attributed to the negative attitudes and weak backgrounds of learners. This
augurs well with the view of Kofie (1995: p. 18) who contends that what is
taught in the tertiary education institutions depend on the background of
students admitted and not much can be achieved if students have weak
backgrounds. On a related note Mezirow (1999: p. 12) believes that learning
should not be frequently thought of in terms of only adding more knowledge,
but should be thought of in terms of causing change to pre-existing
knowledge. Learners who pursue music education studies in tertiary
education institutions could be having varying degrees of pre-existing
knowledge, which ought to be made to result in change.
The views of Kofie and Mezirow above are a challenge to the indigenous
musicians if students, who come from within their societies and among them,
have weak or no background at all in the practice of indigenous genres of
music. In such a situation the tertiary education institutions cannot do much
within a period of about three years, unless well thought out programmes
have been designed. It therefore becomes important for this study to focus on
assessment of the programmes of both the indigenous musicians and tertiary
education institutions as regards practice, growth and enhancement of
indigenous music.
40
Trends of mUSIC development and promotion m Uganda, however, is
currently centred around the kadongo kamu, jazz music and that of the
Gospel artists, which may greatly affect the efforts to preserve and promote
indigenous music. Kadongo kamu, which is now popular among low-income
earners of Kampala City and other areas where Luganda is understood, is a
replica of Kiganda and other indigenous music genres and rhythms, but is
modernized and unfolds in a hybridized form.
The kadongo kamu music combines all aspects of music styles like zouk or
sokous', reggae", Afro-beat4 and Western rhythms (Cooke and Kasule, 1999:
p. 14). These genres of music are performed in local languages. Music in a
local language gives an indication of people's preference for exciting music
in a language they understand (Nyakiti, 2004). This kind of music, however,
creates another challenge
The views stated above clearly articulate the environment in which we are
operating, and thus create challenges as regards the sustenance and promotion
of indigenous genres of music. In this regard Allsup (2003: p. 9) contends
2 Music from the Democratic Republic of Congo characterized by exciting guitar rhythms
and.vigorous dance movements.
A type of music that originated from the Cuban community in Jamaica (Nayiga, 2006).
4 A type of music that originated in Nigeria but shaped by mixing it with American jazz
(Nayiga, 2006).
41
that we are operating in a new hybrid of experience where music is multi-
sensory with styles like hip-hop, rap and others, which remain not merely as
styles of music but a way of life and a way of action that one may literally act
out or perform to one's tastes. If the goal of education is to serve or enlighten
culture, we must be careful to ensure that curricular changes are not imperial
or prescriptive (Said, 1994). The above views gives the impetus for this study
to assess programmes of both the specialist indigenous musicians and tertiary
education institutions as regards dealing with the challenge of preservation,
promotion, quality and substance in indigenous music forms.
Globalization and computer generated rich and varied infinite timbres are
today dictating musical performances in a world that has been subjected to
changes due to advances in technology (Russ, 2002). On a related note
Williams (1992: p. 30) asserts that music educators can ensure the long term
relevance of music education as a profession by making computer teclmology
an integral part of music education. Such challenges would require tertiary
education institutions to deal with the challenge by designing appropriate
programmes to handle music development, conservation and promotion in a
dynamic world subjected to challenges of using modern teclmology. This
ought to be done bearing in mind that dynamism is the key to curriculum
development, owing to the fast-changing trends in music necessitated by
42
influences such as globalization, among others (Elliot, 1995). In this context
Stephens (2000: p. 365) contends that education is not only about
transmitting knowledge from one generation to another, but about critically
reconstructing, reinterpreting and re-examining that knowledge for the
present and future.
Design and use of curricula that allow reconstruction and reinterpretation of
knowledge for posterity are also governed by the government policy issues. If
government policies are ever changing especially in regard to education, it is
music education that is disadvantaged. In this regard Reimer (1989: p. 216)
asserts that when education is going through difficult times when money is
scarce, criticism is severe and psychological and material support is hard to
come by, music education suffers the most. Such situations may lead to
creation of policies that call for the review and adjustments of education
curricula, hence a disadvantage to indigenous music education.
In the event of changing policies and decreased financial resources,
evaluation of programmes and curricula of the tertiary education institutions
would be necessary to ascertain their readiness to deal with the challenge of
the study. Such an evaluation that has to be seen as coming from an outside
source and not from the teacher or tutor concerned with the project (Malcolm,
2003), helps the institutions to reflect and take proper action. When therefore
43
human activity consists of action and reflection, it is praxis: it IS
transformation of the world (Freire, 1970), which seeks real liberation in the
real worlds by employing real means (Allsup, 2003). Action and reflection
are important in realization of the vision and setting of targets to meet
objectives of the curricula.
The growth and continuity of indigenous music needs action by use of real
means to achieve it. It also needs reflection resulting from regular evaluation
of the curricula and programmes of the institutions. This should be done to
assess and avert challenges that may make them fail to uncover the real
worlds and real lives of learners and connect them to indigenous music
practice. If an evaluation does not allow an opportunity in confidence to
express an opinion of the character and quality of educational encounter, it
remains virtually worthless in this field (Malcolm, 2003: p. 76). The focus of
this study was therefore to evaluate worth of the curricula, capacity and
programmes of the institutions to meet the challenge of preservation and
promotion of indigenous genres of music.
2.6 Theoretical Framework
The theories of Curriculum Management by Bobbit (Corbett, 2008),
Scientific Management by Taylor (Corbott, 2008), Emergent Curriculum by
Yule (2004), Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Freire (1985) and Aesthetic
44
Functionalism by Akuno (1997), have been identified and used to support the
framework and focus of this study.· All these theories are focused on the
principle of cohesion for enhancement of productivity and value.
2.6.1 Bobbitt's Theory of Curriculum Management
The theory of Curriculum Management proposed by Bobbitt (1918), as
reported in Corbett (2008) stipulates the design and implementation of an
active curriculum for all people, basing on the work methods of a skilled
person. It requires the identification of a skilled person with the highest
output of good quality work and studying his skills in minute detail while
making records on observations on how he accomplishes his feats. This
observation enables one compile coded information and form an idea of how
new behaviours are performed and training others to follow his work method.
On a related note Bandura (1977: p. 22) contends that most human behaviour
is learned observationally through modeling and from observing others.
Additionally, Bobbitt suggests that when reasonable explanation is given on
how new behaviours and ordinary tasks results are formed it serves as a guide
for action in determining an ideal curriculum broken down into sets of
teachable skills. Application of teachable skills coupled with practical
experiencing imbues intuitive cognition and understanding (Nzewi, 1998).
45
Thus the educators are enabled to impart complex tasks in lock-step fashion
in the context of a rational, scientifically managed way (Bobbit, in Corbett,
2008). Teaching complex tasks in lock-step fashion fits very well with the
need to teach different genres of indigenous music and intricacies of dance
forms which augurs well for this study.
Performance of the indigenous music practitioners meet the kind of skills
pointed out in the abovementioned Curriculum Management theory. Thus
because of the specialist skills of the indigenous music practitioners, Digolo
(2005: p. 97) contends that institutions in Kenya are trying to achieve the idea
of tapping skills of village or specialist indigenous musicians through
creating links between music in the formal institution and music as
experienced in community. Tertiary education institutions in Uganda could
adopt the above stated curriculum innovation and revise their programmes.
This becomes important in view of making indigenous music more practical
and skewed towards dealing with the challenge of conservation and growth of
indigenous genres of music.
This theory is therefore helpful in evaluating curricula of tertiary education
institutions and understanding operations of indigenous music practitioners in
their performance and conservation of indigenous music. It ought to be
46
emulated by tertiary education institutions in designing their music curricula
and programmes so as to overcome the challenge of enhancement and
continuity of indigenous music.
2.6.2 Taylor's Theory of Scientific Management
The theory of Scientific Management, which was advanced by Taylor (1919),
as reported in Corbett (2008) suggests the creation of an objective and
rational science of work measurement and workplace modification to
enhance productivity. This requires a careful study and measurement of the
micro-movements of efficient workers, capable of consistent and high levels
of production. The outcome of this study and measurement can be used to
teach less productive workers to be more like the productive ones. Thus the
study, measurement and exposure are meant to pay attention to the efficiency
of humanity of workers, since they are not production machines, so that
production is generally improved.
Taylor's view of the study and measurement of activities of efficient workers
concurs with what Bandura (1977: p. 89) describes as "attentional" learning
process that determines what is selectively observed in the profusion of
modeling influences to which one is exposed and what is extracted from such
exposures. It enables curricula designers put in place what is good for the
learners. This helps them develop interpersonal intelligences of efficient
47
workers or the ability to understand other people in the sense of what
motivates them, how they work, how to work cooperatively with them
(Gardner, 1993).
The above VIews, when put into practice, lead to the development of
curricular materials that are specially designed. These specially designed
materials become useful aids for teaching and learning. Such programmes are
developed and managed while taking into account both potential knowledge
and cultural background of the learners, and the classroom itself as a music
making community (Omolo-Ongati, 2005).
Taylor's Scientific Management theory has important resonance with the
thoughts of Eshiwani (1993: p. 157) articulating adaptation and
indigenization as some of the stages of curriculum evolution. Adaptation
focuses on structure and material of the curriculum with regard to relevance,
appropriateness and suitability for realities of delivery (Floyd, 2001).
Indigenization focuses on the curriculum that is relevant to the needs today
and tomorrow in content, approach and values (Eshiwani, 1993: p. 157).
Following of these thoughts should thus give meaning to the idea of Taylor's
theory so as to serve the need of teaching less skilled indigenous music
performers to be more like the skilled practitioners. This theory could be
emulated by tertiary education institutions in designing their music curricula
48
and programmes so as to do away with the challenge that hampers the need to
preserve and promote indigenous music.
2.6.3: Yule's theory of Emergent Curriculum
Yule (2004) advances the theory of Emergent Curriculum that departs from
the idea of everything being predefined to that of everything is developing.
The predefined curriculum is the "learning tradition" that was designed by
curriculum experts, handed down over successive generations and requires
teachers and students to only follow the fixed course so as to arrive at the
predefined destination (Primos, 1999). Emergent Curriculum theory was,
however, advanced with the view to depart from what is predefined. It has a
fixed and specified goal, objective content, mechanic implementation
procedures and closed evaluation, which manifests a typical "input-output"
linear process. Thus the indefinite and unexpected factors are ignored.
This theory is focused on having a constructive curriculum in which the
teachers, students, teaching materials and environment interact in the context
of dialogue. It therefore decentralizes power of the teacher, so that he/she is
often seen as a facilitator rather than controller of curriculum activities (Soler
and MIller, 2008). In this way the curriculum leads to what Hargreaves
(1994: p. 215) quoting Dalcroze considers as the mastery of techniques that, .
49
should be subservient to expenencmg mUSIC itself. It thus makes the
curriculum related to the students' rich spiritual world and life experiences as
in their cultural settings and its music.
Yule further explains that curriculum activity, instead of pure cognitive
activity is the dynamic process in which teachers and learners display and
create the significance of the life. In this way the "curriculum" is no longer
known conclusive knowledge, but a dynamic process in which teachers and
students develop and explore knowledge through dialogue. Thus the teacher
is not a passive knowledge transmitter, but an active curriculum researcher
and creator. The student on the hand is also the subject, creator and
constructor in the emergent curriculum, no longer the passive recipient of
knowledge. As such teaching materials is not a static knowledge system, not
the starting point nor the destination of the curriculum, but something to light
"the torch of students' thinking".
Yule's theory can be regarded as "what and how" in regard to indigenous
music occurrence, learning and practice with a view to develop the musicality
of the learners. It would be perceived as providing a satisfactory tool for
facilitating musical learning in both indigenous and western genres. Yule's
theory is therefore focused on guiding students and teachers who have
already had exposure to their cultural setting and its indigenous music. This
50
theory is well placed to help tertiary education institutions deal with the
challenge of preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
2.6.4: Freire's theory of Pedagogy of the Oppressed
The theory of Pedagogy of the Oppressed advanced by Paolo Freire (1985) is
a rhetoric which proposes the application of dialogue, engagement, and
quality, and denounces silence and oppression. Dialogue, in Freire's view
involves respect in that it should not involve one person acting on another,
but rather working with each other. It focuses on promoting musical praxis on
the part of typical students as its guiding ideal (Regelski, 2009). Praxis is
action that is informed and linked to certain values (Freire, 1985), that can be
seen as enhancing and building community with pragmatic results which are
both noticeable and notable (Regelski, 2009). In regard to indigenous music
praxis, practitioners and educators reflect on results of their learners due to
the value they put in their genres of music.
Freire's strands of thinking about educational practice and liberation focus on
non-formal and popular education. Taylor (1993) concurs with Freire's strand
of thinking while pointing out that an important element of this was his
concern with developing consciousness that is understood to have power to
transform reality. The transformation of reality made Freire insist on
51
situation educational activity III the lived expenence of participants.
Indigenous music was and is still a lived and an ever-promoted activity in the
community (Nzewi, 1998). Thus the liberation focus on non-formal education
and development of the power to transform fits well in the study of
indigenous genres of music, where everything is transmitted orally (Eshiwani
1993: p. 157), and in concordance with dialogue, engagement, and quality,
that denounces silence and oppression.
The concept of dialogue and engagement is achievable through the creation
of links between institutions and indigenous music practitioners or formal
and non-formal modes of education. Promotion and application of this theory
in tertiary education institutions makes it interactive with the programmes
therein. It would therefore lead to the production of specialized or specialist
indigenous music practitioners who become the culture's music referents
with responsibility for maintaining as well as extending standards and
repertory (Nzewi, 1998) of the indigenous genres of music.
2.6.3: Akuno's theory of Aesthetic Functionalism
The theory of Aesthetic Functionalism as advanced by Akuno (1997)
suggests that meaning (aesthetics) in music is derived from the role it plays
(function) in the life of those who make it. This theory thus advances the
52
view that music becomes meaningful when it fulfills a socio-cultural function
and that of creating cohesion between man and himself, or man and his
environment. In this regard Greer (1980: p. 117) contends that the
Aesthetic potential of an art object rests on the reinforcing
attributes that art object holds for individuals and groups ... , which
should provide a rationale for music education, a process that
relates to human behavior.
Thus people will seek out or avoid art works depending on the art works'
reinforcement value for the individual or group (Akuno, 2005b: p. 159). The
reinforcing values of music, which form part of the conception of particular
musical types and their component items are realized or expressed in
performance (Nketia, 1966), giving meaning in the role that music plays in
'the life of those who make it (Akuno, 2005b: p. 160).
The theory of Aesthetic Functionalism shows that music is an inherent part of
the community, and was defined and judged by its contribution to
"humanness", one of the defining attributes of indigenous music (Andang'o,
2005). Thus the role of music, under aesthetic functionalism, is to promote
social cohesion by getting individuals collectively involved in activities that
affect the society (Akuno, 2005b: p.161). It brings out aesthetic principles,
ideas, values and behavior that are developed in the context of society and
culture and related not only to the types of music each society cultivates, but
53
also to its value system, concept of reality, and the fundamental needs or
goals it seeks to fulfill through music (Nketia, 1984).
In this study, the theory of Aesthetic Functionalism serves to show that music
making provides its makers with both "aesthetic" and "function". As such it
provides a framework and criteria suitable for the design of music curricula
in tertiary education institutions as it spells out guiding philosophy for music
education. This kind of curricula becomes suitable for use in dealing with the
challenge of preservation and promotion of indigenous music. The theory
suits curricula design in institutions in that its use enables learners experience
.indigenous music, which is often performed in the language fully understood
by its makers (Nyakiti, 2004) thus giving meaning (aesthetics) to what is
being learnt.
The above theories offer trends of thought that were useful in assessment of
the objectives, curricula and programmes of tertiary education institutions to
articulate their relevance to meet the challenge for the need to preserve and
promote indigenous music in Uganda. They confirm the views Hargreaves
(1994: p. 216) states that curriculum planning starts from a broad and fairly
abstract analysis of the overall objective of music teaching, and psychological
theories ought to be able to contribute towards this. The theories stated above
54
gives an understanding and appreciation of the artistic qualities of music, an
understanding of transmission of cultural heritage and fostering of creativity
as the broader objectives leading to conservation and continuity of
indigenous genres of music.
2.7 Conceptual Framework
Before the evolution of formal education, cultural norms and indigenous
music culture, which formed the base of generic knowledge (Mushira, 2005),
influenced each other and the two, were inseparable. Thus the two create
cross-cultural musical principles whose features are largely observable in the
.primary stages of musical development (Lynch & Eilers, 1991). Their
coexistence made each stand as a paradigm of its own preservation and
promotion. It was a two-way development not manipulated by any other
factor.
The two-way development of cultural norms and indigenous genres of music
trapped them in a vicious circle where form, nature and practice remained
stagnant. This required a third party to turn the process towards active music
development, conservation and continuity. The third party was eventually
ushered in with the introduction of formal education in Uganda.
55
This study developed a conceptual framework where formal general music
education interacts with the generic informal or non-formal indigenous
category. The theories of Aesthetic Functionalism (Akuno, 1997), that of
Emergent Curriculum (Yule, 2004), and of Pedagogy of the Oppressed
(Freire, 1985) were more pertinent as the basis for formulation of the Formal
- Informal Music Education (FIME) model of interaction. The common point
of these three theories that guided the basis for construction of the FIME
model is the act of joining or working together to form a united whole.
The theory of Aesthetic Functionalism suggests creating cohesion between
man and his environment, while that of Emergent Curriculum suggests the
design and use of a curriculum in which the teachers, students, teaching
materials and environment interact in the context of dialogue. Additionally,
the theory of Pedagogy of the Oppressed advocates for dialogue and
engagement of learners and teachers working together. The product of this
interaction of the formal music education with the generic informal one
therefore enhances preservation and promotion of indigenous music as
presented in figure 1.1 on the next page.
In this model of Formal and Informal Music Education (FIME), the formal
mode of education is that which is "very regular, systematic and orderly"
(Barnhart et al, 1992) and whose knowledge and skills are usually learnt in
56
tertiary education institutions. It is represented by circle A on the left hand
side of the model. Learning of music in these institutions is through
structured training with pre-set curricula and programmes. Readiness of the
institutions in terms of curricula, capacity and programmes formed the
independent variables. Preservation and promotion of indigenous music
represented by circle C formed the dependent variable.
Figure 1.1: The Formal-Informal Music Education (FIME) model of interaction
Formal music
education in
institutions through
structured training
with pre-set
curricula and
programmes for
music learning and
practice guided by
music educators
* Learners get deeper
Knowledge and skills
of indigenous music;
* Learners acquire modern
organizational skills and art
of stage performance;
* Indigenous music is practiced.
refined and passed on to the
next generation;
* Indigenous music is preserved
through practice.
Informal music
education in
indigenous societies
where learners
systematically acquire
knowledge and skills
of indigenous
instruments playing,
singing and dancing
by observation,
emulation and practice
guided by skilled
practitioners. -
A
Tertiary education institutions refer to Universities, Primary and National
Teachers' Colleges that offer music education in their curricula. They provide
57
specialized and higher level or post secondary music education. The Primary
and National Teachers' Colleges produce teachers who provide music
education in primary and secondary schools up to the fourth year of
secondary education (The Government White Paper, 1992). Universities offer
education that produces music specialists who become either teachers of the
fifth and sixth year of secondary education (advanced or "A" level) or
National Teachers' College lecturers or specialist music performers.
Non-formal education is an out-of-institution learning and training
programmes that are not deliberate, regular or prescribed (Jeff et al, 1990).
Thus the non-formal indigenous music, which is represented by circle B on
the right hand side of the model, entails knowledge and skills that are
systematically learnt through observation, emulation and practice. Learning
this knowledge and skills is done in form of dialogue and engagement
(Freire, 1985) through structured training guided by the indigenous music
practitioner following a pre-set curriculum that is not written. It constitutes
versatile generic music practices and dance forms that reflect the indigenous
music sounds, music materials, and practices. It also constitutes cultural
norms that reflect customs, knowledge, beliefs, rituals, language, perceptions,
adaptation to environment and practices (Du Preez, 1997). All these serve its
58
makers, the indigenous communities giving them relevance to their daily
lives (Akuno, 2005a).
The conservation and promotion of indigenous music is shown in the model
by section C, the interface of the two circles, A and B. This shows the
influence both informal indigenous music culture and tertiary education
institutions have on each other. They share ideas, and create cohesion
between man and his environments (Akuno, 1997), and adjust their views
accordingly. They as well interface in form of dialogue (Yule, 2004; Freire,
1985). Interaction of this nature enhances musicality as a product of both
nature and nurture, and one does not operate without the other (McDonald
and Simons, 1989: p. 41). The interaction further enables them respect and
encourage a variety of value positions within their settings, do not impose
their unique sets of norms on others, but respect them, listen to them while
searching for their own position during dialogue (Mwesa, 2003).
The formal mUSIC educators learn many things from the non-formal
indigenous music practitioners through the interface indicated in section C.
These include the techniques of manipulation of musical instruments, skills
and styles of performance of intricate dance forms and any other information
for scholarly discourses. In this way, music educators from the institutions
59
form links with the indigenous music practitioners from whom they acquire
knowledge and skills of indigenous music (Digolo, 2005), through dialogue
(Freire, 1985). The indigenous music practitioners on the other hand, though
rarely accessing knowledge directly from the tertiary institution music
educators, emulate aesthetic and organizational skills they deem beneficial
for the encouragement and sustenance of their genres of music. In this regard
Lapp et al (1975: p. 206) asserts that a proper interaction approach ought to
recognize the essential importance of power, order, and structure so that they
accept the validity of institutions, political processes and technologies of our
age and support further humanization of man with values of love, trust,
. cooperation, freedom and responsibility.
o
Section C, the interface of circles A and B, should be able to achieve the
values of dialogue, love, nature and nurture pointed out above by Mwesa
(2003), McDonald et al (1989), Freire (1985), and Lapp (1975) respectively.
The interface further, thrives on principles that are drawn from age tested
day-to-day activities of the indigenous music with philosophies that guide
learning. It is the stage where indigenous music is preserved through practice
by both the indigenous practitioners and learners in the tertiary education
institutions. The need to strengthen this interface gave the impetus for the
formulation of principles that form the proposed active indigenous music
60
curriculum named the "Living Indigenous Music Education Curriculum"
(LIMEC).
LIMEC is a practical curriculum that suits the needs and practice of both the
informal and formal learning modes practiced in the indigenous music
communities and tertiary education institutions respectively. It is an elevated
status where the indigenous music and dance forms have been refined for
community consumption and ready to be passed on to the next generation.
The indigenous music is geared to the activities and musical tastes shaped by
individual conformity to norms of the ethnic group (Hargreaves, 1994).
Uganda's 65 ethnic societies (Hansard, 2005; MoGLSD, 2006) form
reference groups, each with her own norms and principles that regulate
indigenous music study and practice.
In this regard LIMEC provides a learning opportunity for one to develop
from either a learner into a music specialist or a neophyte or an apprentice
into an indigenous music practitioner. This development of the musician
becomes possible when that person delves deeper in the intricacies of music
and dance and acquires cumulative knowledge and skills of these genres of
music (Akuno, 2005c: pp. 15 -16).
61
Active indigenous mUSIC education would require tertiary education
institutions to design and include units in their curricula that enable students
have opportunities to experience the live world of practical indigenous music
performance. This becomes possible through such experiences as internship
and corporate placements with renowned village indigenous music
practitioners. In this regard Flolu (2005: p. 108) explains that the specialist or
village musicians were the best teachers of African music and the traditional
context is the best environment for a student of African music. Their
excellence in knowledge and skills of indigenous music is still unchallenged .
. Internship and corporate placement of the learners is aimed at contextualizing
indigenous music that is relevant to their lives and to enable them have vital
connections in the areas of understanding, knowledge and skill (Stephens,
2000) thus leading to preservation and promotion of this genre of music. By
doing so learners are helped to develop their auditory and visual
discrimination, motor skills and a sense of personal accomplishment through
active participation in indigenous music activities.
Informal indigenous music practice has skilled music practitioners who are
expert music composers, performers and consultants in the idioms of their
community's music. These musicians invigorate the indigenous music
62
practices in their societies and are responsible for the continuity of these
genres of music performances from one generation to the next. They are
makers of mUSIC that is "lived" and experienced without the undue
interference of rules, regulations and conventions (Flolu, 2005).
Further, indigenous music practitioners are valuable treasure stores of these
genres of music for both the societies where they live and providers of formal
music education. This is seen in the model as an interface between circles A
of indigenous music culture and B of tertiary education institutions. It clearly
indicates a stage of an association between indigenous music and tertiary
.education institutions where the two influence each other in one way or
another, hence the development of the "Living Indigenous Music Education
Curriculum" .
Manipulation of music education in both theoretical knowledge and practical
skills by tertiary education institutions influences the societies' music
practice and cause development, preservation and promotion of indigenous
genres of music. Doing this should enable tertiary education institutions
overcome the challenge of this study. This is because the truly educated can
transform others, as education is contagious (Akuno, 2001). Institutions'
guidance on music education augurs well with the Kajubi Commission
63
Recommendation of 1989, which emphasizes a pupil's acquisition of
practical skills for use in life even if he/she does not continue with education
to higher levels (Ssekamwa, 1997: pp. 187-188).
Tertiary education institutions ought to play the role of designing active
curricula following the principle of the "Living Indigenous Music Education
Curriculum" and oversee its implementation. Recipients of music education
can use the acquired knowledge and skills to become music specialists. These
indigenous music practitioners and educators who are part and parcel of the
society eventually help the societies refine, preserve and promote indigenous
_music practice. This is seen in the model as an interface of the tertiary
education institutions and indigenous music culture circles, A and B. Thus
tertiary education institutions and indigenous music base complement each
other leading to development of the "Living Indigenous Music Education
Curriculum" and finally enhancement and promotion of indigenous genres of
music, hence the basis for this study.
It is important to summarize the FIME model of interaction as avenues for
learners to acquire knowledge and skills of indigenous music and engage in
its active practice, preservation and promotion through formal and non-
formal modes of music education. Through this curriculum learners are led to
64
acquire a cultivated intellect of formal music education coupled with practice
of informal indigenous music develops a candid mind that resonates the latter
(indigenous music), and perpetuates active practice, preservation and
promotion of this genre of music.
KENYATTA UN~VERSITY LIBRARY
65
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter provides the general framework within which data was collected
in order to address the objectives of the study. It outlines the research design,
target population, sampling procedures, the research instruments, data
collection and data analysis procedures that were used in the study.
3.2 Research Design
Research designs are plans that guide the arrangement of conditions for the
. collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to
the research purpose with economy in procedure (Smith, 1981). This study
employed the assessment and descriptive approach for the investigations. A
descriptive approach is geared towards obtaining information concerning the
prevailing status or phenomenon, with an aim to describe "what exists with
respect to variables or conditions in a situation" (Ary et. al, 1990).
Addressing objectives by use of questionnaire, interview and observation is
described as methodological triangulation (Creswell, 2008; Fraenkel and
Wallen, 2006; McNeil and Chapman, 2005).
66
The descriptive design consisting of questionnaire, interview and observation
schedule was used in this study to:
i) Assess the music programmes and activities of the tertiary education
institutions and determine their relevance and focus in preservation
and promotion of indigenous music;
ii) Make a critical judgment of the adequacy of music programmes,
curricula and resources in the tertiary education institutions and
identify areas of strengths and limitations in these areas.
iii) Establish whether indigenous musicians have benefited from the
programmes of the tertiary education institutions .
.Variables were studied in their current contexts without being manipulated,
so that findings can contribute to answering the research questions. Readiness
of the tertiary education institutions formed the independent variable. This
readiness was looked at in terms of curricula, capacity and programmes.
Enhancement of indigenous music formed the dependent variable.
3.3 Target Population and sampling
3.3.1 Population
The target population In this study comprised 350 respondents that
constituted music lecturers in the universities, music lecturers in the National
Teachers' Colleges, tutors in the Primary Teachers' Colleges and indigenous
67
musicians in the area of study. The actual population employed in the study
consisted of 11 University lecturers, 8 National Teachers' College lecturers,
18 Primary Teachers' College tutors, 27 indigenous musicians and 7 other
randomly selected people whose opinions were sought on emerging cross-
cutting issues in regard to the study.
3.3.2 Sampling
Sampling revolves around representatives which are achieved through
randomly drawing samples (Durrheim, 2002). The purposive and simple
random techniques described here below, were adopted and used in this
study. These sampling techniques were used to get the sample size of 20% as
recommended by Best and Kahn (2004), out of a target population of 350
respondents, with results as shown below. The sample size was also decided
upon following Fraenkel and Wallen's (2006: p. 104) view that a sample
should be as large as the researcher can obtain with a reasonable expenditure
of time and energy.
3.3.2.1 Purposive Sampling Technique
This is a technique in which the persons selected pose the necessary
representation of the population (Fraenkel and Wallen, 2006). It was applied
to select lecturers and tutors to take part in the questionnaire survey and
68
indigenous music practitioners to take part in the interview sessions. The
universities, National Teachers' Colleges (NTCs) and Primary Teachers'
Colleges (PTCs) which offer music in their curricula and are situated within a
radius of 150 krn of Kampala city were purposively selected and used in this
study. These institutions included 6 universities, 3 National Teachers'
Colleges and 13 Primary Teachers' Colleges as indicated in the table below.
The table also includes the thirteen (13) districts, which were purposively
selected and used as locations where the indigenous musicians were obtained.
These districts are in the same location as the selected tertiary education
institutions.
Table 3.1: Universities, NTCs and PTCs in the area of study, which
offer music
Universities District
Busoga Iganga
Makerere Kampala
Muteesa I Royal Masaka
Namasagali Jinja
Ndejje Luwero
Uganda Martyrs' Nkozi Mpigi
National Teachers' Colleges (NTCs)
Kaliro NTC Kaliro
Mitala Maria Nkozi Mpigi
Mubende NTC Mubende
69
Primary Teachers' Colleges (PTCs)
Bikira Rakai
Bishop Willis - Iganga Iganga
Buloba Wakiso
Ggaba Wakiso
Jinja Jinja
Kabulasoke Mpigi
Kaliro Kaliro
Kibuli . Kampala
Nakaseke Luwero
Nazigo Kayunga
Ndegeya Masaka
Sancta Maria Nkonkonjeru Mukono
St Noah Mawaggali Mityana I
3.3.2.2 Total population sampling
Each of the Primary Teachers' Colleges in the area of study was found to
have either one or two tutors. All these tutors were used in the study.
Sirriilarly all lecturers in the Universities and National Teachers' Colleges
with a maximum of three members each were used in the study.
3.3.2.3 Simple Random Sampling Technique
There were two National Teacher's Colleges and one University each of
which had more than three lecturers. Names of all the music lecturers in each
institution were written on pieces of papers that were folded and then mixed
70
thoroughly. Only three lecturers in each of these institutions were selected
using the ballot type technique or blind fold picking of the folded papers.
This was done to ensure that no bias entered the selection process and also
that all music lecturers in that institution had an equal chance of being
selected.
3.3.2.4 Convenience Sampling
In regard to selection of indigenous mUSIC practitioners, convemence
sampling technique was used in choosing individuals who were conveniently
situated near the tertiary education institutions. A convenience sample is a
group of individuals who conveniently are available for study (Fraenkel and
Wallen, 2006: p. 100). Assistance of music educators in the institutions was
sought to identify the indigenous music performing groups conveniently
available near their colleges and their locations, within a radius of fifteen
kilometres. Assistance of the music educators was preferred to that of the
District Cultural Officers (DCa) as the former were nearer the indigenous
music practitioners than the latter, who required being approached in their
offices at the district headquarters.
The above instituted an avenue for random and convenient selection of two
performing groups situated near the selected tertiary institutions and within a
radius of fifteen kilometers. This distance of convenience was arrived at and
71
used to overcome the problem of transit on "boda boda" through the village
paths. The leaders and some representatives of the indigenous groups were
used as respondents in the study.
In districts with more than one institution and where the distance from one to
the other is not more than fifteen kilometres, any two performing groups
within the proximity of these institutions were chosen. Simple random
selection technique using blind picking of folded papers bearing names of the
groups was employed. Either the leader or a member of the selected group of
indigenous music practitioners was used in the study, as indicated in the table
below. Other stakeholders whose opinions were deemed necessary to clarify
issues like authenticity of the dance forms, costumes and music education
generally were also used. These respondents (See Appendix IIb) were
randomly selected as snowball sample. Fraenkel and Wallen (2006: p. 439)
describe snowball sample as one selected when need arises during the
conduct of a study.
Table 3.2: Number of respondents selected from the Institutions and Districts.
Institution Number of District Number of indigenous
Lecturers music practitioners
And Tutors
Bikira PTe 1 Rakai 2
Bishop Willis PTe 2 Iganga }
.-
Busoga University 2 Iganga } 2
72
BulobaPTC 2 Mpigi }
GgabaPTC 2 Mpigi } 2
Jinja PTC 1 Jinja }
Namasagali University 1 Jinja } 2
Kabulasoke PTC 1 Mpigi } I
Uganda Martyrs 2 Mpigi }
University
Mitala Maria 2 Mpigi } 2
Nkozi NTC
Kibuli PTC 2 Kampala }
--
Makerere University 3 Kampala } 2
Ndejje University 2 Luwero }
Nakaseke PTC 1 Luwero } 2
MubendeNTC 3 Mubende 2
St Noah Mawaggali 1 Mityana 2
Busuubizi PTC
Sancta Maria 1 Mukono 2
Nkokonjeru PTC
Nazigo PTC 1 Kayunga 2
Kaliro NTC 3 Kaliro }
1---
Kaliro PTC 1 Kaliro } 2
Muteesa I 2 Masaka }
Royal University
Ndegeya PTC 1 Masaka } 2
Total = 37 Total = 26
3.4 Research Instruments and Equipment
The following research instruments and equipment were used III data
collection.
73
3.4.1 Questionnaires
The questionnaires (see Appendix III) totaling 37 were distributed to the
music educators by the researcher. All the 37 questionnaires administered
were collected after three days within the very week after they had been filled
in by the respondents. These questionnaires, with closed-ended items, were
an effective tool for data collection as they contained pre-organised as well as
thought out questions appropriate for. soliciting the desired responses from
the study subjects. Both qualitative and quantitative data on indigenous music
preservation and promotion was solicited using this research instrument.
Responses from the questionnaires were coded and out of which frequencies
were obtained in form of percentages, which were then analysed using the
SPSS computer programme.
3.4.2 Interview Schedule
The interview schedule that was designed with semi-structured questions
(See Appendix IV) was used to collect data from the indigenous music
practitioners. Semi-structured interviews are verbal questionnaires with a
series of questions designed to elicit specific answers from the respondents
(Fraenkel and Wallen, 2006). This kind of interview provides an atmosphere
that encourages the interviewee to talk freely and be clearly understood
(Radnor, 2004). Using semi-structured interview schedules, informants were
74
interviewed within their localities. These interviews were useful in getting
information and views intended to clarify the research questions and issues
emerging from statement of the problem.
This was an informal interview which did not require services of interpreters
as the respondents were literate and could fluently express themselves in
English. Informants in this category were leaders of the performing groups,
referred to as the indigenous music practitioners. Audiocassette recorder was
at this time used to record the interviews. Digital camera was also used to
take pictures of relevant on-going activities (plates 1 -3) in some areas of
study where the indigenous music practitioners and their groups were found
performing.
3.4.3 Opinionnaire
An opinionnaire (see Appendix V) was designed with semi-structured
questions to seek opinion of selected respondents od issues of authenticity of
the indigenous dance forms, costumes and music education generally. These
respondents (see Appendix lIb) were randomly selected as snowball sample.
Fraenkel et al (2006: p. 439) describe snowball sample as one selected when
need arises during the conduct of a study. Respondents in this category were
interviewed in their work places.
75
3.4.4 Observation Schedule
The observation schedule (See Appendix V) was used to collect data from the
tertiary education institutions. It was used to establish the depth and
relevance of the curricula content, programmes and facilities in tertiary
education institutions in regard to preservation and promotion of indigenous
music. The observation schedule was also used to establish the role of the
tertiary education institutions in these developments. This observation was
helpful in substantiating information gathered through literature surveys and
textual analysis.
3.4.5 Equipment
A still digital Samsung camera, battery operated marantz cassette recorder
with in-built microphone, sony cassette tapes and a canon video camera were
used in collecting music data, oral opinions and visual impressions of
activities as indicated in the table 3.3. on the next page. Video and audio
recordings were helpful in allowing repeated and comparative observations
without having to reassemble the participants, that is the indigenous music
practitioners.
76
Table 3.3: Equipment and their use in data collection
I-E'ql~;nent-----I-fi,·[~;~i~TQ1;;i---Tf)~~:i;-;;,~;-------fP~/;~-;latTo~-rl-Dat(~-------l
I Codes! Isample or / collected 1
I
' 1· institution
, • 1, I wnere it I
~ttel'Y op~rat;2C-tIl\;1~-r~-;~---1~ecord------- r;:~~~~~~us-tol~;inion--0f---
cassette recorder PMD2221,;, i interviewsrnusic i informants in
f
lnd empt. y i :,ony cassette !of informants ,practitioners regard to the:
assette tapes I r apes I . stl~dy . I
I I - I objectives i
rStTll'ordIg1taf~-t s~r?sung------~king stil-l-~~enous -IVi~;~;I--~----l
ramer~ IldIgIt.a~c~m:=ra IIPICtur~S.Of 1.nUSl~. Ill;preS.SlOlI IEC-E)81ZZD lon-gomg practinoners!ot on-going i/PBZA :acti vi ties Iactivitiest---------t;;;-,------------ -----------.+1---·
iSamsung; ITaking still ITertiary !Visual ,
Idigital camera pictures of education [impression I
IF:C
c
-ES81ZZD ire5~urc~s i: liDstituti~m icf~m:-¥oillg !
IT.'BL'A Jthe instituuons lactivities " Ir .. ....J .•. 1.;:) •.•. ,, __1•...1, .1...)j I'-·l ••...'" ~ .1 •...' ,
Video cam-e-.r-a-+i-c-·'-an.on video i.Taking. _.li~----- l!jdrg~r~O-~s--tV-i;~'i.----.. ,
, I Camera [recordings of music !iJYJpn~s3i':m i
! . ! FS406 !on-g~'i.ng i prCicti~ior;ersiof?n,-~oing i, I -. II ' lactivities L -acuviues II Ic ,I______ ~ ...__,__ ._L. .,, . ---'-- ' ~. .__l c._, .. .J
3.5 Validity and reliability of the instruments,
" ::
Validity of an instrument according to Fraenkel .and \Vathm (2006: ,p."2(5)
refers to the appropriateness, meaningfulness, correctness and usefulness. of
consistency of SC(H'eSand answers from one administration of an instrument
to another and from one set of items to another. Construct-related validity of
, " . '.::: .~" f; :t :'~ ~.' .,'; "
the instruments was obtained ti'OJ1~ three independent judges (See Appendix
, '-
..-~ . . ;
! " I
77
IIc). All the independent judges indicated that items of the instruments had
appropriateness of language that could easily enable respondents give
information. The judges were also satisfied with adequacy of the questions in
the instruments in regard to measurement of the lecturers' and tutors'
knowledge of the music curricula in their institutions. Thus inferences about
the specific use of the questionnaire and interview schedule were validated
and necessary corrections made so that the relatedness and relevance of the
items in these tools became commensurate with the purpose of the study.
To ascertain the reliability of the questionnaire, a pilot study was conducted
in three tertiary education institutions and among two indigenous music
practitioners outside the area of study. Two different but equivalent forms of
the questionnaire (equivalent-form method) were administered to the same
group of individuals during the pilot study time. This enabled the researcher
obtain a reliability coefficient of .80, calculated using the SPSS computer
programme. Enhancement of validity and reliability was done through the use
of a variety of instruments that included questionnaire, interview and
observation schedules to collect data.
78
3.6 Data Collection
3.6.1 Primary Data
Primary data was collected during the field study conducted in tertiary
education institutions and selected districts where the indigenous music
pactitioners are located. The researcher, helped by research assistants
administered questionnaires to the respondents. Interviews by the researcher
aided by an interpreter and participant observations were carried out. Audio
and audio-visual recordings were made to capture the various phenomena of
interviews and indigenous music performances. Permission was sought from
the various offices in charge of areas involved in the study. This was aimed at
enabling the researcher freely collect data in the area of study.
3.6.2 Secondary Data
Reference to and review of various relevant documents was carried out and
used to corroborate the data collected. These included: books, dissertations
and theses related to the research topic, relevant journals, periodicals, and
relevant websites. A number of reference materials were obtained from Moi
Library and the Music and Dance Department of Kenyatta University. Others
were also obtained from Barclays Library and the Department of Performing
Arts of Kyambogo University, Makerere University main Library and the
Department of Music, Dance and Drama in the same institution. Additional
79
information was obtained from the Archives of the Ministry of Education and
Sports in Uganda.
3.7 Data Analysis
Analysis involved breaking up the data into manageable themes, patterns,
trends and relationships (Mouton, 2001). This was done in order to
understand the various constitutive elements of data through an injection of
the relationships between concepts, constructs or variables.
The research questions and objectives were used to guide analysis of data.
After collection of data, the researcher classified and coded the responses
from the questionnaires and interviews to make the data amenable for
analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). This was
used for accurate quantitative data processing needed in answering the
research questions.
Analysis of recorded visual and audio-visual images was carried out to
establish objectives and significance of various activities in relation to the
preservation and promotion of indigenous music. Information from this
analysis has been crucial in determining the significance and level of
guidance from programmes of the tertiary education institutions as regards
preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
80
Finally both qualitative and quantitative data were classified and integrated,
employing summaries, qualitative content analysis, tabulation and basic
statistics for easier organization and synthesis. They were then categorized
thematically in line with the research questions and objectives before being
presented for the projected chapters.
81
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF THE FINDINGS
4.0 Introduction
This chapter deals with the presentation of data that was gathered from the
respondents that included lecturers, tutors and indigenous musicians. Data
was also gathered through the observation schedule.
4.1 General Information
Table 4.1: Gender distribution and designation of respondents
Category of Gender Freq % Designation . Freq %
Respondents uency N=37 uency N=37
Music Male 22 59.5 Lecturer 19 51.4
Educators Female 15 40.5 Tutor 18 48.6
Total 37 100.0 Total 37 100.0
% %
Indigenous N=26 N=26
Musicians Male 17 65.3 Group leader 20 76.9--- _._-Female 09 34.7 Member of the 06 23.1
Group
Total 26 100.0 26 100.0
There were two categories of respondents namely, mUSIC educators and
indigenous music practitioners. The majority (59.5%) of the music educator
respondents was male and the minority (40.5%) was female. The designation
showed that 51.4% of the music educator respondents were lecturers and
48.6% were tutors. This implies that majority of the music educators as
respondents were male and lecturers respectively.
82
Among the indigenous mUSlC practitioners the majority (65.3%) of the
respondents was male and the minority (34.7%) was female. Further, 76.9%
of these indigenous music respondents were the group leaders and the
minority (23.1 %) was members of their respective performing groups. This
implies that the majority of the indigenous music practitioners was male and
group leaders respectively. Gender distribution has been pointed out here
because of women participation as lecturers, tutors and leaders of some
performing groups. The women folk being few and the male many did not
have any impact on the findings. Both served as active partners in their fields.
Table 4.2: Respondents' work experience and highest qualification
Music educators
Teaching Experience Highest Academic Qualification
Duration Number % Level Number %
N= 37 N=37
1 month-2 yrs 03 08.1 Masters Degree 06 16.2
3 - 5 yrs 06 16.2 Bachelor of Education 06 16.2
6 - 10 yrs 21 56.8 Bachelor of Arts 08 21.6
Over 10 yrs 07 18.9 Diploma in Education 12 32.4
Other 05 13.6
Total 37 100.0 37 100.0
Indigenous music practitioners
Performing experience Highest Academic Qualification
1 month-2 yrs 02 07.7 Bachelors' degree 03 11.6
3 - 5 yrs 04 15.3 Diploma 03 11.6
6 - 10 yrs 14 53.8 Secondary education 14 53.8
over 10 yrs 06 23.2 Primary education 06 23.0
Total 26 100.0 26 100.0
83
The above table has two categories of respondents namely the mUSIC
educators and indigenous musicians.
i) Music Educators
The minimum year of lectureship or tutorship, which is up to two years, has
the minority (08.1 %) of the respondents and the maximum of over ten years
has 18.9% of the respondents. The median year of lecture or tutorship
experience between six and ten years, is eight (8) years, which has the
majority (56.8%) of the respondents. This means that most of the music
educators in the sample have taught for a number of years and are well
experienced.
In regard to academic qualification, most of the music educators making
37.8% of the respondents are holders of Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) or
Bachelor of Arts with Education (B.A.Educ.) degrees followed by diploma
holders making 32.4%. Only 16.2% constitute respondents with Masters'
degrees. The other, constituting 13.5% of the respondents in this category
include personnel that have not attained diploma, which is the minimum
required qualification for one to be employed as a tutor in a Primary
Teachers' College. Generally people without diploma qualifications are
employed as demonstrators or craftsmen, mainly in Universities. However,
84
due their practical skills, they end up doing actual teaching. Though there are
some few Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) holders in these institutions, none of
them were available to be used as respondents.
ii) Indigenous music practitioners
The minimum duration of performance experience, which is up to two years,
has the minority (07.7%) of the respondents and the maximum of over ten
years has 23.2% of the respondents. The median year of performance
experience, which is eight years, has the majority (53.8%) of the respondents.
This means that most of the indigenous musicians have performed for a large
number of years making them well experienced.
In regard to academic qualification, most of the indigenous mUSIC
practitioners constituting 53.8% of the respondents have attended education
up to secondary school level, followed by 23.0% attaining at least primary
school education. A minority group (11.6%) is composed of holders of
Diploma certificates and another of 11.6% has Bachelors' degrees in various
fields. This implies that all indigenous music practitioners in the sample have
attained some level of education besides their skill in indigenous music
performance,
85
4.2 Music educators' response to questions
Music educators play a very important role in the implementation of their
institutions' curricula in regard to the promotion and preservation of
indigenous music. Their responses to questions asked about various concerns
of this study are presented here below.
4.2.1: Aspects that impact capacity to teach indigenous music knowledge
and skills
This section focuses on collected data concerning factors that impact the
capacity of music educators to teach indigenous music in their institutions.
Likert scale was used to gauge responses to the question item asked in this
regard. It was designed on a four - point scale where Strongly Agree and
Agree responses were taken to mean yes, while Disagree and Strongly
Disagree responses were taken to mean no.
In the table below, SA refers to strongly agree, A to agree, DA to. disagree
and SDA to strongly disagree. The table generally shows that the majority of
the music educators making a cumulative figure of 81.1% agree that the use
of indigenous musical instruments impacts their capacity to teach content of
this music: Unfortunately, as indicated by 89.2% of the respondents, these
instruments are not available. On skilled human resources, another 81.1%
86
agree that teaching the content of the indigenous music requires services of
resource persons. A large number (78.4%) of the respondents indicate that
these human resources are not readily available.
A significant number (62.1 %) of the music educators agree that possession of
knowledge and skills in indigenous music impacts their capacity to teach, yet
91.1% of them stated that lecturers of that caliber are rarely available. This
implies that many music educators in tertiary education institutions lack the
capacity to teach indigenous music .. Another large number of the music
educators constituting 73.0% of the respondents confirm the statement that
although texts books on indigenous music are important resources to impact
their capacity to teach, they are quite rare in the institutions as pointed out by
78.5% of the respondents.
On the question of skill, a cumulative figure of 72.9% of the music educators
agree that teaching content requires the ability to perform indigenous music
so as to pass the knowledge and skills to learners. Though this ability is
important, 83.8% of the respondents stated that such teachers are rare.
87
Table 4.3: Music educators' response to the statement about aspects that
impact their capacity to teach indigenous music.
Aspects that impact capacity Frequency and percentages
to teach indigenous music SA A DA SDA TOTAL
No % No % No % No % No %
- Use of indigenous musical 11 29.7 19 51.4 7 18.9 00 00 37 100
instruments when teaching
2 5.4 2 5.4 16 43.3 17 45.9 37 100
- Availabil ity of instruments
- Use of resource persons 10 27.0 20 54.1 4 10.8 ,.., 8.1 37 100-'
- Availability of resource ,.., 8.1 5 13.5 15 40.6 14 37.8 37 100-'
persons
- Possession of knowledge 9 24.3 14 37.8 9 24.3 5 13.5 37 100
and skills in indigenous
music 3 8.1 4 10.8 17 45.9 13 3.5.2 37 100
- Availability of lecturers
- Use of text books on
. indigenous music 16 43.3 11 29.7 5 13.5 5 13.5 37 100
- Availability of text books 5 13.5 3 8.1 13 35.2 16 43.3 37 100
- Use of teachers with
practical skills in 12 32.4 15 40.5 08 21.6 2 5.4 37 100
indigenous music
- Availability of such 2 5.4 4 10.8 17 45.9 14 37.9 37 100
teachers
- Use of at least 5 hours
a week to teach practical 9 24.4 10 27.0 4 10.8 14 37.9 37 100
indigenous music.
- Availability of such time. 4 10.8 3 8.1 14 37.9 16 43.2 37 100
- Personnel that use music
equipment and tools in 7 18.9 16 43.3 8 2l.6 06 16.2 37 100
teaching
- Availability of such 5 13.5 4 10.8 13 35.2 15 40.5 37 100
personnel --
- Use of newer forms of
equipment to record and 16 43.3 12 32.4 7 18.9 2 5.4 37 100
preserve music and dance
- Avai1ability of equipment ,.., 8.1 ,.., 8.1 17 45.9 14 37.9 37 100-' -'
88
Furthermore a majority (51.4%) of music educators believes that use of at
least five hours a week for practical indigenous music would impact their
capacity to teach. However, 81.1% of the respondents state that there is
insufficient time for any music educator to effectively teach the practical
aspect of this genre of music.
A large number of the music educators constituting a cumulative figure of
62.2% agree that use of music equipment and tools impact their capacity to
teach indigenous music. Unfortunately, such personnel are rare as pointed out
by 75.7% of the respondents. Another large number (75.7%) of the music
lecturers and tutors believe that use of newer forms of equipment to record
and preserve music and dance impacts capacity to teach knowledge and skills
of indigenous music. These include diskettes, flash discs, DVDs and CDs for
use at any time in the teaching of indigenous music, as pointed out by 83.8%
of the respondents.
4.2.2: How the music curricula in tertiary education institutions in Uganda
relate to the task of the study
This section focuses on the data collected from responses of the mUSIC
educators on the question of relatedness of music curricula in the institutions
in regard to preservation and promotion of indigenous music. Likert scale on
a four - point scale where Strongly Agree and Agree responses were taken to
89
mean yes, then Disagree and Strongly Disagree responses were taken to mean
no, was used to gauge their responses.
Table 4.4: Music educators' response to the statement about how music
curricula in tertiary education institutions relate to the task of the study
Frequency and percentages
How curricula relate to the topic SA A DA SDA TOTAL
No % Nc % No % No % No %
Syllabus constitute much of western 16 ~3.3 9 24.3 10 27.0 2 5.4 37 100.0
and less of indigenous music
Content of indigenous music, though 14 37.8 11 29.8 9 24.3 3 8.1 37 100.0
little, is theoretically taught
Recorded indigenous music audio- 16 ~3.3 11 29.8 6 16.1 4 10.8 37 100.0
visual aids and resource persons are
needed as teaching resources.
The above teaching resources are 13 ~5.1 14 37.8 3 8.1 7 18.9 37 100.0
not available
Syllabus designed to make learners 14 ~7.8 11 29.8 7 18.9 5 13.5 37 100.0
literate in Western music theory,
history and composition
Aural skill training takes the least 13 ~5.1 12 32.5 9 24.3 3 8.1. 37 100.0
Time
Practical indigenous music is given 12 ~2.4 11 29.8 9 24.3 5 13.5 37 100.0
least attention
Practical Western music is given 10 ~7.0 11 29.8 8 21.6 8 21.6 37 100.0
more attention
Syllabus lacks content on 16 43.3 14 37.8 5 13.5 2 5.4 37 100.0
indigenous music preservation
90
In the above table, SA refers to strongly agree, A to agree, DA to disagree and
SDA to strongly disagree. The table shows that the syllabus content of a
number of tertiary education institutions constitutes more of theory of
western music and less of indigenous music. This is indicated by the majority
(67.5%) of music educators who affirm the statement. Another 67.6% of the
music educators also confirm that the content of indigenous music in the
syllabus is theoretically taught in tertiary education institutions. This implies
that there is very little of the practical aspect of the indigenous music taught
in tertiary education institutions, since the content deals mainly with general
theory and history of African music.
Furthermore, music educators constituting a cumulative figure of 72.9% of
the respondents agree that the use of recorded audio-visual traditional
performances and resource persons as teaching resources are necessary for
indigenous music instructions. These resources are not readily available as
pointed out by 72.9% of the respondents. Another large number (67.6%) of
the music lecturers and tutors agree with the statement that music syllabi in
the tertiary education institutions are designed to make learners much more
knowledgeable in western music theory, history, composition and harmony
than in indigenous music.
91
On the question of whether aural skill training is given least attention in the
curriculum, 67.6% of the respondents affirm that statement. This implies that
institutions disregard aural skill training, yet it is good for indigenous music
documentation and practice. This makes the curricula lack relatedness to the
task of the study. Similarly 62.1% of the music educators affirm the
statement that practical work in indigenous music is given minimal attention
in the curriculum.
Another large number (56.8%) of the respondents agree with the statement
that western music is given more attention in the curriculum.' This implies
that all aspects of indigenous music, which are good for the task of the study
have little place in the curricula of the institutions in the study. Furthermore
81.1% of the respondents agree that the education curriculum does not have
content on ways of preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
Graphically the above data is represented as here below where:
• The bars A and B with average mean of 39% and 30% respectively
represent statements which confirm that music curricula in tertiary
education institutions negatively relate to the task of preservation and
promotion of indigenous music and;
92
• Bars C and D with average mean of 21% and 10% respectively do
not support statements given about how music curricula in tertiary
education institutions relate to the task of preservation and promotion
of indigenous music. The respondents in this category believe that
curricula in tertiary education institutions positively relate to the task
of preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
Graph 1: How curricula relate to the task of preservation and promotion of
indigenous music
~ ~--------------------------------------------~
10
30
20
c
(IJ
Q)
~ 01-_
A a c D
93
The graph implies that the majority of the music educators confirm that
music curricula in the tertiary education institutions are not in consonance
with the task of preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
4.3 Availability of human and technical resources
This section focuses on the collected data provided by lecturers and tutors
on the question of availability of human and technical resources for the
task of preservation and promotion of indigenous music in tertiary
education institutions. Likert scale was used to gauge their responses. The
likert was used on a four - point scale where Most Available and
Available were taken to mean yes, while Unavailable and Most
Unavailable responses were taken to mean lack of necessary human and
technical resources as in the table 4.5 on the next page.
In the table 4.5, .MA refers to Most Available, A to available, UA to
Unavailable and MUA to most unavailable. The table shows that a large
number of music educators constituting a cumulative figure of 73.0%,
admit that resource persons who ought to help in indigenous music and
dance performances are not available. This implies that such human
resources are rare.
94
Table 4.5: Availability of human resources
Frequency and percentages
Available human resources MA A VA MVA TOTAL
No % No % No % No % No %
Resource persons for 4 10.8 6 16.2 12 32.5 15 40.5 37 100.0 ,
indigenous music
practical work
Lecturers who teach 10 27.0 15 40.6 8 21.6 4 10.8 37 100.0
different areas of
western music
Lecturers who 9 24.3 7 18.9 18 48.7 3 8.l 37 100.0
Effectively teach
indigenous music
and dance practices
---Personnel for '" 8.l 6 16.2 19 51.4 9 24.3, 37 100.0,)
Indigenous music
Icollection, recording,
documentation and
storage
Resource persons 11 29.8 17 45.9 4 10.8 5 13.5 37 100.0
who help in teaching
western music
practical performance
Lecturers who carry 4 10.8 8 21.7 17 45.9 8 21.6 37 100.0
out research and record
indigenous music using
modern music technology
Another large number (67.6%) of music educators admit that personnel who
teach various aspects of western music are available in the tertiary education
95
institutions. This implies that they teach mainly western music theory, history
and harmony. Furthermore, music educators constituting 56.8% of the
respondents indicate that personnel needed to effectively teach practical
aspects of indigenous music and dance are not readily available in the
institutions. Hence the human resources needed for the teaching of skills and
knowledge of indigenous music and dance practical work for its promotion
and preservation are rare.
The table also shows that the maj ority, constituting 75.7% of the respondents
point out that music educators versed in the process of indigenous music
collection, recording, documentation and storage are not available. In regard
to western music, resource persons who help in teaching practical
performances of this geme of music are available as indicated by 75.7% of
the respondents. This implies that the human resources for western music
practical performance are more available than those for indigenous music.
Further, research work and recording of indigenous mUSICusmg modern
music technology is also rarely carried out by music educators in tertiary
education institutions. This is shown by a cumulative figure of 67.5% of the
music lecturers and tutors, who admit that such resource persons are not
available in the institutions.
96
All the above is summarized graphically here below, where:
• bars A and B represent the availability of human resources, and
• bars C and D show that the human resources are unavailable.
Graph 2: Availability of Human Resources
~ r-------------------------------------------~
30
20
c:ro
(l)
~ 10
A B c D
The graphic representation above shows that human resources needed for the
task of preservation and promotion of indigenous music are rarely available
in tertiary education institutions.
97
Table 4.6: Availability of technical resources
Type of technical Frequency and percentages
resources available SA A DA SDA TOTAL
No % No % No % No % No %
Variety of western 9 24.3 5 13.5 10 27.0 13 35.2 37 100.0
musical instruments
Variety of indigenous 12 32.4 16 43.3 6 16.2 3 8.1 37 100.0
musical instruments
Music resource 4 10.8 3 8.1 21 56.8 9 24.3 37 100.0
and practice rooms
Newer forms of 7 18.9 2 5.4 16 43.3 12 32.4 37 100.0
equipment to record,
play back and view
recorded music works
Tools for traditional 7 18.9 5 13.5 20 54.1 5 13.5 37 I 100.0
musical instrument
making and repair
Text books on 5 13.5 5 13.5 16 43.3 11 29.7 37 100.0
indigenous music
Computer with music 6 16.2 5 13.5 20 54.1 6 16.2 37 100.0
software for
indigenous music
transcription and
digital storage
In regard to the availability of technical resources, the above table provides
data that explains the findings. Likert scale was used to gauge responses of
the music educators. The likert was used on a four - point scale where SA
••
refers to strongly agree, A to agree, DA to disagree and SDA to strongly
98
disagree.
When asked about the availability of a variety of western musical
instruments, 62.2% of the music educators indicated that these instruments
are not available in their institutions. There is, however, a variety of
indigenous musical instruments available in tertiary education institutions, as
indicated by a cumulative figure of75.7% of the music lecturers and tutors.
The table above also shows that institutions generally lack physical space like
music resource and practice rooms for practice of indigenous music. Music
educators constituting a cumulative figure of 81.1% of the respondents
disagree with the statement that such resources are available in their
institutions. In this case, institutions lack that kind of technical resource.
Another cumulative figure of 75.7% of the music educators disagree with the
statement that their institutions have newer forms of equipment for recording
and play back of audio, visual and audiovisual recordings of indigenous
music and dance forms. This means that such technical resources are lacking
in tertiary education institutions. Further, 67.6% of the respondents disagree
with the statement that their institutions possess various tools for the making
99
and repair of traditional musical instruments. In essence these tools are not
available in the institutions. This implies that when traditional musical
instruments get damaged or funds are not allocated for their procurement, the
performance of indigenous music in tertiary education institutions also comes
to a halt indefinitely.
Furthermore, music educators constituting a cumulative figure of 73.0% of
the respondents disagree that books on indigenous music are available in their
institutions. This implies that books specifically dealing with content on
indigenous music are lacking in the institutions. Such resources should be
used in preparation of teaching content on indigenous music. A large number
(70.3%) of the music educators disagree on the availability of computers with
software for indigenous music transcription and digital storage in their
institutions. This means that institutions lack modern equipment for
documentation and digital storage of indigenous music works for posterity
and use in teaching.
The above data is summarized graphically here below, where:
• bars A and B represent the availability of technical resources, and
• bars C and D represent unavailable technical resources.
100
The graphic representation below shows that technical resources needed for
the task of preservation and promotion of indigenous music are rarely
available in tertiary education institutions.
Graph 3: Availability of technical resources
50 ~------------------------------------------,
40
30
20
cco
OJ2: 10
A B c D
4.4 Engagement of the tertiary education institutions in productive roles
This section focuses on the data gathered from responses of the music
educators on the issues of engagement of their institutions in productive
roles needed for the task of preservation and promotion of indigenous
music. Likert scale was used to gauge their responses. The likert was used
101
on a four - point scale where Strongly Agree and Agree were taken to
mean yes, while Disagree and Strongly Disagree responses were taken to
mean no to the need to have the stated roles. Furthermore, the
respondents were asked to state whether such roles are being undertaken
in their institutions or not.
Table 4.7: Engagement of the tertiary education institutions in productive roles
Engagement in Frequency and percentages
productive roles SA A DA SDA TOTAL
No % No % No % No % No %
-Collect and record 18 48.7 14 37.8 3 8.1 2 5.4 37 100.0
indigenous music 16 43.2 18 48.7 " 8.1 00 00 37 100.0.J-Role not engaged in
-Research on indigenous 19 51.3 15 40.6 3 8.1 00 00 37 100.0
music preservation
-Role not practiced 14 37.8 18 48.7 2 5.4 3 8.1 37 100.0
-Guiding indigenous 18 48.7 17 45.9 2 5.4 00 00 37 100.0
Music practitioners 13 35.1 15 40.5 4 10.8 5 13.5 37 100.0-Role not practiced
-Active performance of 18 48.7 16 43.2 3 08.1 0 00 37 100.0
indigenous music
-Role not engaged in 18 48.7 14 37.8 3 8.1 2
5.4 37 100.0
-Development of 21 56.8 14 37.8 2 05.4 0 00 37 100.0
Archives
Role not engaged in 13 35.1 22 59.5 0 00 2 5.4 37 100.0'
-Offer short courses to 21 56.8 10 27.0 4 10.8 2 5.4 37 100.0
indigenous musicians
-Role not engaged in 10 27.0 22 59.5 I 2.7 4 10.8 37 100.0
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In the above table, SA refers to strongly agree, A to agree, DA to disagree and
SDA to strongly disagree. The table shows that the majority of music
educators constituting a cumulative figure of 86.5% admit that the roles their
institutions ought to undertake in the promotion and preservation of
indigenous music through collecting and recording of indigenous music and
dance. However, 91.9% of the lecturers and tutors admit that such roles are
not being practiced. Another 91.9% of the respondents admit that research on
ways of promotion and preservation of indigenous music is an important role
their institutions ought to engage in. However, 86.5% of them admit that such
a new role is not being practiced in the tertiary education institutions.
Music educators constituting a cumulative figure of 94.6% agree that their
institutions should undertake the role of helping the local indigenous
musicians in developing, promoting and preserving their music and dance.
But the majority constituting 75.6% of the music educators admit that this
role is not being practiced in their institutions. Furthermore, preservation and
promotion of indigenous music and dance can be undertaken by actively
performing it in the institutions and the society. This is what a large number
(91.9%) of the music educators agree on as the role their institutions should
undertake in the promotion and preservation of indigenous music and dance.
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Unfortunately, according to 86.5% of the lecturers and tutors, their
institutions do not practice such a role.
Development of an archive for recorded performances of indigenous music
and dance according to 94.4% of the music educators is one of the roles
tertiary education institutions should undertake in the promotion and
preservation of indigenous music. However, music educators constituting
94.6% of the respondents admit that this is not being practiced in their
institutions. On the other hand, the majority constituting 83.6% of the music
educators admit that offering tailored courses to local musicians to help them
learn modem ways of preservation and promotion of indigenous genres of
music is one of the roles their institutions should undertake in their expected
role of promotion and preservation of indigenous music. This role, however,
is not being practiced in tertiary education institutions as admitted by 86.5%
of the music educators.
4.5 New ideas achieved by the indigenous music practitioners from
programmes of the tertiary education institutions
This section focuses on data from interviews with indigenous mUSICIans.
When asked about the various problems they faced, their involvement and
interactions with the tertiary education institutions, and what they had
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achieved from these institutions, the respondents gave a range of answers that
are presented in the table below.
The table below shows that all indigenous performing groups (100%) face a
similar problem of lack of facilities. Only 42.3% of the indigenous musicians
and their groups had either seen or heard music, dance and drama
programmes of the tertiary education institutions in their communities. These
performance programmes mainly consist of inter - house music and dance
festivals of institutions within the communities' localities. Another
performance by the institutions that the indigenous music practices likely had
the opportunity to attend is the Makerere Music, Dance and Drama (MDD)
"Peoples' Theatre", which they engage in during their practical examinations.
This implies that the music and dance programmes conducted by tertiary
institutions in the communities are not geared toward community
development.
Table 4.8: Responses of the indigenous music practitioners
Various questions/statements put to the respondents Freq %
Uency N=26
Problems of lack of funds and facilities like musical
instruments, costumes and transport 26 100.0
Attended/watched or heard of tertiary education
institutions' programmes to either educate the community
on cross-cutting issues through music and dance or the 11 42.30
"People's Theatre".
Association with institutions:
105
• Watched institutions' indigenous music performances 10 38.46• Invited to give advice during students' rehearsals 13 50.00• Invited to perform to enable students learn
authentic skills and styles. 12 46.15
• Received visits and guidance from tertiary institutions
individuals like teachers, students or former students
(graduates) during rehearsals for functional
performances and cultural festivals 22 84.61
What they learnt from tertiary education institutions:
1. Pleasing organized stage arrangement and use that
spells out authentic dance presentations.
2. Use of well designed and smart
indigenous costumes.
3. Polished and controlled singing of indigenous 23 88.46
music with dynamic levels.
Affirm performing of music and dance from other cultures
Reasons for doing so:
• Have a wide representation of cultures so as to
entertain the audience with variety of cultural
performances.
• Promote other cultures as well. 04 15.38
Do not perform music and dance from other cultures
Reasons for not doing so:
• Own indigenous music and dance is wide and needs
to be developed more than other cultures;
• Has no source of learning authentic and intricate
music and dance performances from other cultures 22 84.62
Knowledge on authenticity of indigenous music
performance costumes and accompaniment
1. No knowledge. 21 80.77
2. Some vague knowledge. 01 03.85
3. Knowledgeable. 04 15.38
Source of knowledge and skills of indigenous music
performance 18 69.23i) School
ii) Home village 06 23.08
iii) Watching public performances 02 07.69
Ways of handling authentic performing situations and
modern stage setting learnt from institutions:
i) Combine the two since the modern audience
joins in the dance mid way. 18 69.23 j
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ii) Redesign and plan according to composition
of the audience 08 30.77
Other things to learn from tertiary institutions:
a) To be regularly guided by the institution
personnel so as to have well organized stage
and lively performances 25 96.15
b) Recording and marketing of performances 20 76.92
c) How to preserve indigenous music 16 61.53
When and where indigenous performances are staged:
- At any time and any place when invited/hired
to perform at a public function in either urban or
rural setting 26 100.00
- During a cultural gala at designated places and
time of the day. 26 100.00
What prompted the group to be established and carry
out performances:
i) Earn a living through provision of performances
at a cost; 15 57.69
ii) Promote indigenous music for the good of the
kingdom. 26 100.00
iii) Need to participate in the annual music and dance
cultural gala organized by either Nile Beat Artist
Troupe or cultural institutions 25 96.15
On the issue of associating with tertiary education institutions, 38.46% of the
respondents indicated that their performing groups had the opportunity of
being invited to either watch or demonstrate or give advice to enable students
acquire skills and styles of authentic indigenous performances. Another
50.0% of the respondents contended that the institutions invite them to guide
students in their rehearsals for inter-house music and dance competitions.
This goes hand-in-hand with being invited to perform in tertiary education
institutions to enable students learn authentic indigenous skills and styles of
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music making, as indicated by 46.15% of the respondents. Others constituting
84.61% of the respondents indicated that they receive guidance from different
categories of individuals from the tertiary education institutions like students,
music educators and graduates of these institutions.
In regard to what they achieved from tertiary education institutions, a
majority of the respondents constituting 88.46% stated that they have learnt a
lot from either watching various performance activities of the institutions
generally or advice and guidance from individuals like music educators,
students and graduates. What they have learnt include: pleasing organized
stage arrangements and use that spells out authentic dance presentations, use
of well designed and smart indigenous costumes, and polished, controlled
singing of indigenous music with dynamic levels.
Respondents were also asked about performance of music and dances from
other cultures as well as their knowledge on authenticity of indigenous
performance costumes and accompaniment. In their response only 15.38% of
the respondents affirmed that they perform music from other cultures so as to
have a wide coverage of entertainment in their performances. The rest,
constituting 84.62% of the respondents, stated that they do not perform music
108
outside their cultures because of lack of knowledge as well as the need to
concentrate on developing their own ethnic music.
On the question of knowledge of authenticity of costumes and mUSIC
accompaniment of their own ethnic music, 80.77% of the respondents stated
that they have no knowledge about costumes and performance
accompaniment. This implies that the indigenous musicians follow what they
learnt about their cultures without taking the trouble to know the background
and developments that entail their genres of music.
In regard to how they manage disparity between the typical indigenous music
performing situation, which does not distinguish performers from the
audience and the institutions' concept of modern stage setting, 69.23%
reported that they combine the two situations. This is because modem
audiences have the habit of joining in performances after they have gone
almost half way. Another 30.77% said their initial study of the composition
of the audience gives them an opportunity to plan and redesign the stage
setting and performance situation.
The above findings imply that indigenous music practitioners look for ways
to accommodate both the typical indigenous situation and modem stage
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settings. On the question of when and where their indigenous performances
are staged, the entire group of respondents (100%) stated that it happens at
any time and any place. Such times include whenever they are invited or
hired to perform at a public function in either urban or rural setting during a
cultural gala at designated places and times of the day.
Based on their achievement from the tertiary education institutions, 96.15%
of the respondents are willing to be regularly guided by tertiary education
institution personnel to acquire more knowledge and skills on good
organisation of performances, the art of choreography and new ideas, which
they believe can be imparted by people from these institutions. Whereas
76.92% are interested in the recording and marketing of their performances,
61.53% are concerned with paving ways for preservation of the indigenous
genre of music.
In regard to the motivation of indigenous music practitioners to either form or
join performing groups, 57.69% of the respondents said they were driven by
the need to earn a living through provision of indigenous music entertainment
to the public. All of them (100%) had strong motivation to promote
indigenous genres of music for the good of their kingdoms. This is the case
because the performing groups used in this study and the geographical area of
110
study is generally within the two major kingdoms of Buganda and Busoga
(see list in Appendix IIa).
Another 96.15% reported that the need to participate in annual indigenous
music and dance cultural gala organized by either the Nile Beat Artists'
Troupe or cultural institutions prompted them to establish or join performing
groups. This implies that the need to participate in cultural galas was the
driving force behind indigenous musicians' establishment or joining of the
existing performing groups.
4.6 Examination of music syllabi and facilities of the tertiary education
institutions
This section provides data from observation of facilities and study of music
syllabi available in the tertiary education institutions. Data that was gathered
through recorded interviews, observation of facilities and study of the syllabi
using structured observation schedule (see Appendix III), was classified,
interview responses coded and tabulated as presented here below.
III
Table 4.9: The nature of music syllabi and availability of facilities necessary
for indigenous music education in tertiary education institutions.
Focus Nature of music syllabi and availability Number of %
Area of facilities institutions N=22
Syllabus Incorporates units of theoretical 04 19.0
indigenous music.
Has unites) for practical indigenous music. 03 13.6
Has unites) to cater for skills in indigenous 13.6
musical instrument making and repair 03
Technical More than 2 different text books on 06 27.2
tools/ African music.
resources Local materials like costumes, props and
employed Other learning aids for teaching
III conventional indigenous musical concepts 16 72.7
teaching Portable cassette or CD player, audio tapes 05 22.7
and CDs.
Video camera, player and tapes 02 09.0
Computer with music software 01 04.5
Physical Special room(s) for music Education 03 13.6
Facilities Realistic indigenous tools for teaching
making/repair of xylophones, drums,
harps, tube fiddles lyres, flutes, pan pipes, 18 81.8
notched pipes, lamellaphones.
The table above indicates that syllabi of the tertiary education institutions
have very little (19.0%) content on theoretical indigenous music. The
practical aspect of this genre of music is also minimal and is shown as
constituting 13.6% of the content. This implies that western music constitutes
a major part of the curricula in these institutions.
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In regard to technical resources employed in the teaching of indigenous
music, only 27.2% of the tertiary education institutions have more than two
(2) text books on African music. These books are commonly by Kwabena
Nketia, Solomon Mbabi-Katana, or Joseph Kyagambiddwa. Furthermore,
72.7% of these institutions were found to be in possession of local materials
like costumes, props and other teaching or learning aids. Another 81.8% of
them have xylophones, drums, harps, tube fiddles, lyres, flutes, pan pipes,
notched pipes and lamellaphones, necessary for teaching conventional
indigenous musical concepts.
On the availability of equipment and software, a few tertiary education
institutions, constituting 22.7%, have either portable cassette players with
audio tapes or compact disc (CD) players with appropriate CDs or both. Very
few of them, constituting 9% of the institutions have video cameras, video
players and tapes on indigenous music. Fewer still constituting 04.5% of
them have computers with music software. Physical facilities especially
special rooms for use in the indigenous music education are available in only
13.6% of the tertiary education institutions.
All the above findings show that syllabi of the tertiary education institutions
have very little content for the teaching of indigenous music and practice.
113
Further, technical tools and resources that are necessary for instruction are
not readily available. Although indigenous musical instruments and costumes
are available, their use is bound to be meaningless without curricula that are
indigenous music oriented.
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CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
5.1: Introduction
This chapter entails the discussion of the findings presented in chapter four of
this study. Contributions of the respondents, observation of the institutions'
facilities and syllabi, as well as interviews conducted by the researcher
yielded some important information. That information has been used in the
discussion, and finally coming up with concluding interpretation of the
results. The results are systematically discussed based on the research
questions, problems of the study and a careful exploration of the concepts of
the frameworks presented in chapter two.
5.2: Aspects that impact the capacity of music educators to teach
knowledge and skills of indigenous music
This section focuses on discussing factors that either positively or negatively
impact the capacity of music educators in tertiary education institutions in
their expected task of teaching knowledge and skills of indigenous music.
The study looked at the availability of musical instruments, costumes,
resource persons as demonstrators, and music educators with knowledge and
skills in indigenous music as the most essential- in enhancing the capacity to
115
teach indigenous music. The human and technical resources listed above are
directly connected to indigenous music practice. Their availability and use
positively impact on the capacity of music educators to teach knowledge and
skills of indigenous music. Other facilities needed to give positive impact on
the capacity of music educators are the availability of text books, physical
space for practical study and time given for practical work.
Data obtained from the mUSIC educators reveal that none of the above
mentioned physical facilities, apart from indigenous musical instruments, are
readily available in tertiary education institutions. This poses a big challenge
in that lack of formal requirements and materials contributes to the
inaccessibility of knowledge (Bresler, 1996). The availability and use of
various physical facilities enhances the capacity of music educators in the
teaching of skills in performance of indigenous music, while their
unavailability does the inverse. Every institution, however, has at least a
drum, a set of xylophones and an assorted number of stringed or wind
instruments. These indigenous musical instruments are mainly used to
accompany songs and provide rhythm for dance.
The availability of indigenous musical instruments in institutions is therefore
essential for the task of promotion of indigenous music. This is because the
116
basis of music education for Africans is oral tradition, which includes the
performance of vocal and instrumental music interwoven with dance
(Amoaku, 1982; Okafor, 1988). Use of these facilities coupled with the
availability of costumes for practical work and text books on indigenous
music fulfills complementary needs of promotion of indigenous music
practice.
Conversely, the availability of all the above stated facilities may not
positively impact the capacity of a music educator if they fail to effectively
use them and more so to enthuse the learners. In this regard Rainbow (1964:
p. 19) contends that for music to be successful it must be enjoyed and the
teacher must be able to influence his learners with his own enthusiasm for
music. This creates a healthy classroom interaction leading to a positive
attitude for both the learner and teacher. Doing this therefore brings an
accomplishment of larger and better results towards the preservation and
promotion of indigenous music.
Another challenge music educators are facing today is that of the need to
cope with the rapid advancement of music technology (Andango, 2009).
Music technology provides a number of newer forms of equipment that music
educators need to enhance their capacity to teach. These include audio visual
117
aids or mnemonics like computers, video cameras, still cameras, flash discs,
digital video discs (DVDs) and compact discs (CDs) for recording
performances of indigenous music, preserving what has been recorded and
using them as often as possible in teaching. Use of recorded indigenous
music performance often enhances the teaching (Farrant, 1982). It enables
learners to view, as many times as possible, what has been recorded. It is also
important in that it creates visual literacy, thereby providing learned ability to
interpret visual images accurately and to create such images (Heinrich et al,
1982).
Use of prerecorded performances thus bridges the gap especially where the
lecturer cannot make demonstrations or where there are no resource persons
to be used as demonstrators of indigenous music performances in the course
of the lesson. Lack of the facilities stated above, as findings reveal, however,
leaves gaps that could be filled by live performances or demonstrations of the
skills being taught. The absence of these facilities thus negatively impact on
the capacity of music of educators to teach indigenous music.
Personnel needed in the institutions for the teaching of content on indigenous
music include resource persons and music educators who should ably
demonstrate various indigenous skills when teaching. Skills are necessary
118
because mUSlC must be learnt through active engagement as it is made
through performance (singing and· playing), listening and composmg
(creating), which must be learnt through similar activities (Akuno, 2005b).
Skills referred to in this case include singing of indigenous songs, skills and
techniques of manipulation of musical instruments, skills in demonstration of
polyrhythm in dance and song accompaniment and demonstration of
intricacies of dance movements.
Results of the findings reveal that very few music educators are able to
demonstrate at least some few performance skills in indigenous music yet not
skillfully enough. Without appropriate and effective demonstration skills,
very little tuition takes place especially if there is nobody with such skills to
assist learners to engage in music activities as a reflection of their
musicianship and thus development of their musical minds (Seashore, 1967).
Indigenous musicians who have the capacity to create and express indigenous
music intelligibly (Wanjala, 2005), and guide learners in doing the same are
also not readily available. The absence of indigenous musicians as resource
persons thus negatively impacts on the capacity of music educators who are
wanting in skills of indigenous music, which they are supposed to teach.
119
The problem of genres of music to be handled in the curriculum as well as the
societies of their origin may arise (Katuli, 2005) in a multi-cultural society
such as Uganda. It happens because many issues in the curriculum are left to
the educator to decide. As such, educators tend to choose certain musical
cultures they like or know something about and hope the learners will like
them too (Omolo-Ongati, 2005). This, if not checked, leads to disagreements
when education serves to reinforce one greater culture or heritage at the
expense of another (Allsup, 2003), thus creating differing competing voices
arguing for their cultures to be engaged in (Hookey, 1994).
Situations described above may arise where the music educator lacks the
capacity and know-how to handle multifarious cultures when imparting
knowledge and skills of indigenous music. It also arises if a good number of
learners in anyone institution come from different communities, with the
majority claiming their culture works best and is valid for study. In this
regard Hookey (1994: p. 39) warns that involving culture bearers in
classroom exploration of their musics may not always be a welcome activity.
The choice of a musical culture not represented in class sometimes provides a
level ground for all students to explore and learn the new musics (Omolo-
Ongati, 2005: p. 75), if only the educator could handle it.
120
As a measure of overcoming the above bottleneck, Katuli (2005: p. 22)
advocates for an integrated curriculum that should enable learners to
experience music from other cultures alongside their own. This leads to
multicultural education where the teaching of a broad spectrum of music
cultures in the music curriculum takes place, primarily focusing on ethno
cultural characteristics (Andang'o, 2005: p. 64). Thus multicultural education
enculturate those who belong to the culture and acculturate those from other
cultures. Acculturation refers to the process through which people from one
culture absorb and internalize aspects from another culture during the
encounter between the two cultures (Mugambi, 1995).
On a similar note, Kwami (1989: p. 163) describes enculturation as living in
society, having motivation, a desire to learn as well as some aptitude: but this
learning is not always made conscious. Various ethnic societies in Uganda
have, to a very large extent, been acculturated in one way or another, thus
coexisting in a friendly atmosphere. Thus enculturation as part of the
curriculum should be good for learners' acquisition of knowledge and skills
of indigenous music performance in diversity.
In light of the observations above, Kwami (1996: p. 61) is of the view that a
comprehensive education programme needs to recognize that deviations do
121
not equate with inferiority and that diversity can contribute to a rich and more
meaningful tapestry of life and experiences. What Kwami emphasizes here is
avoidance of undue differences, which should not deter but rather enhance
the process of enculturation of music making and learning in diversity.
Enculturation, generative musical skill development or creativity, schooling
and the wider community are the four elements that exemplify the different
influences on music making (Welch, 2006). When these four elements are
well handled, it should positively impact the capacity of music educators to
teach knowledge and skills of indigenous music.
Thus music making is the means as well as the end of enculturation and vice
versa, which enables one to acquire wisdom, a holistic grasp of important
knowledge and understanding of interrelationships (Jorgensen, 1997). By
exposing students to other cultures and specifically to the music of these
cultures, cross-cultural possibilities are explored more fully, richly, and
critically than when focusing only on western music (Oehrle, 1991).
Enculturation or a cross-cultural approach in indigenous music education
gives students an awareness of living in multicultural and diverse societies,
and a richer understanding of content.
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Fulfillment of the views expressed above needs content-driven-curricula in
tertiary education institutions for the teaching of indigenous music that takes
cognizance of the folk ways of perception, conception and skill acquisition in
this genre of music. That kind of curriculum should recognize indigenous
music as a cultural activity that reveals a group of people, learners in this
case, organizing and involving themselves with their communal relationships
(Chernoff, 1979). Achieving this should enable tertiary education institutions
to aggressively pursue preservation and promotion of indigenous music. The
bottom line in this situation is the use of resource persons without which
curricula may remain to negatively impact the capacity of the music educator
to teach indigenous music.
Lack of personnel to teach indigenous music in Uganda is caused by the ever
changing policies on music education, which affect the production of the
desired personnel. In Circular 20/2008 (Ministry of Education and Sports,
2008), for example, music was made an elective subject to be offered by
government aided secondary schools if the minimum number of learners is
not less than 40 students in a class. Indigenous music education embedded
within the curriculum of general music education is therefore adversely
affected. The policy does not, however, address itself to the curriculum of
private schools, which are therefore at liberty to continue with music
123
education in their curricular. However, the issue of limited financial support,
which is common in private schools, may also make them exclude music
education in their curricula.
The above policy of making music an elective subject could have been
designed without due consideration of the positive impact of music in
society. Policy designers should have had the notion that music is a low
status subject regarded as an "optional extra" rather than as "a proper" part of
the academic curriculum (Hargreaves, 1994). Such a policy would, by and
large, lead to phasing out music as a subject from the curricula of many
schools, and especially if the head teachers have negative attitudes towards it.
Changes in policies on education consequently give a negative impact on
music education. There is a likelihood of circular 20/2008 affecting the
morale and negatively impacting the capacity of music educators in National
Teachers' Colleges. It has also caused students to shun pursuing music
education studies where they see no future in the job market (Omunyokol,
2009). The morale of tutors in Primary Teachers' Colleges is similarly low
because of the policy stated above (Waikere, 2009). A similar situation
applies in Kenya, where the impact of the recommendations of the Davy
124
Koech (1999)5 report, made students admitted for music opt for other degree
courses for fear that there would be limited job opportunities for music
graduates (Shitandi, 2005). Effects on morale are bound to negatively impact
the capacity of music educators to teach music in general and the indigenous
type in particular.
Policies similar to the above have been circulated in the past with the end
result that most people in Uganda, music educators included, start their
formal music education at secondary school or even at tertiary education
level. This is evident in the government policy that anyone who attains two
principal passes at senior six examinations, with one of the subjects passed
being in any language, qualifies to pursue music education studies in the
National Teachers' College (Ministry of Education and Spots, 2003). The
need to pass music as a subject is not addressed in this policy. Policy
designers could have omitted that requirement with the awareness that very
few students nationwide pursue music education studies.
Davy Koech's commission of Education in Kenya made recommendations dubbed TIQET
(Totally Integrated Quality Education and Training for Unity, Equity and Development) in
which music in the Primary School curriculum would only be taught as Non-examinable
subject to standard four to six pupils, and music in secondary school curriculum would only
be taught as an elective and not to be clustered under a category of subjects from which a
candidate was compelled to choose a subject for examination.
125
Pegging language as a requirement for admission into tertiary education
institution to pursue music education and especially when training teachers is
a big challenge for the tertiary education institutions. Language is connected
to music through the writing of lyrics for songs and proper diction of words
in a singing performance. In this regard Ilari (2003: p. 92) asserts that though
music and language acoustically share common properties like pitch, rhythm
and timbre, there is no evidence to support cause and effect relationships, or
the notion that students who are good in language are necessarily good in
music and vice-versa.
Such a policy allows the admission into music progreammes of even students
without any prior knowledge of music and who may have not participated in
any form of music performance in their life time. Teaching this group of
students requires the music educator to spend a lot of time on elementary
knowledge other than building on what they know. The concern therefore is
that the products of this kind of system are not adequately equipped with
music skills to enable them cope with the social challenges that await them
(Wanjala, 2005). Pursuing formal music education in tertiary education
institutions cannot therefore enable these teacher trainees to experience the
practical and informal rote method of learning music (Miya, 2005), which is
126
necessary for the acquisition of knowledge and skills in indigenous music
performance.
When these teacher trainees finally graduate as teachers, their competence in
delivering knowledge and skills of indigenous music learnt in barely two
years is wanting. This happens because theoretical pedagogy in schools is
increasingly turning out students who are unable to "behave musically",
particularly in the areas of performing, listening and composing (Akuno,
1997). Two years of study of music together with other professional courses
are not enough unless such a teacher trainee is a genius or has been practicing
indigenous music informally right from childhood. Thus, lack of the
knowledge and skills to bring out the desired specialization in indigenous
music performance negatively impacts the capacity of music educators to
teach.
In a similar situation Shitandi (2005: p. 289) describes the issue of lack of
personnel in Kenya as that of a serious shortage of teaching staff for the
African music education. The same applies in Zambia where Mubita et al
(2005: p. 169) attribute lack of music education personnel to government
failure in placing music among the priority subjects where staff development
should be supported. Lack of personnel greatly erodes the confidence of the
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few available music educators. It also negatively impacts their capacity to
teach indigenous music and especially if there are no resource persons to
assist where they are not confident.
The issue of lack of teachers to specifically teach knowledge and skills of
indigenous music arises because modern educated Africans were effectively
influenced and programmed to become the vanguards in the cultural
dissociation as well as derogation of their original creative integrity (Nzewi,
1998). Transforming that class of modern educated Africans into people who
value and are ready to promote indigenous music education, needs a much
greater effort. This is not an easy task because emphasizing and promoting
cultural-environmental integrity and mental originality requires listening,
observation and participation that constitute the reciprocal dimensions in the
development of musicianship right from childhood (Flolu, 2004). Thus
having music educators whose musicianship has not been developed
practically over time implies entrusting the task of teaching indigenous music
to people without capacity to deliver. Services of the indigenous musicians
would thus be required to bridge the gap.
Hire of services of indigenous music practitioners as resource persons to aid
the work of music educators is governed by the availability of funds in the
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institutions. But this may also prove hard as music has generally not been
seen to qualify as a subject of learning in schools and institutions
(Hargreaves, 1994). This could be the cause of reluctance of administrators to
cater for it in the planning and budget process (Akuno, 2005b). Besides the
unavailability of funds, the negative attitude of administrators in tertiary
education institutions mitigates against hiring of services of resource persons
(Shitandi, 2005). It happens in situations where most University
administrators would not recognize players of indigenous musical
instruments or performers of indigenous dance movements as educators and
would not employ them as such (Herbst, 2005).
Lack of recognition of the indigenous musicians as educators arises from the
notion that they can neither construct meaningful sentences in English nor
present any academic paper (lsabirye, James, 2009). As such, they are
categorized as non-academic staff who cannot be given chance to handle
academic issues. This happens probably because of the low prestige-afforded
the traditional arts, or lack of emphasis on traditional arts in formal education
(Darkwa, 1980: p. 3). It denies learners the opportunity to experience
authentic skill demonstrations from the resource persons. As such, the
available music educators in institutions who find it hard to teach indigenous
music have to bear the burden, which eventually negatively impacts their
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capacity to teach knowledge and skills of indigenous mUSIC theory and
performance.
Society also holds mixed feelings towards indigenous musicians. Part of the
society hold them in high esteem as people whose performance of indigenous
music grace any village or community occasion. Others have a negative
attitude and low opinion of indigenous musicians and do not consider them as
important or serious people in society as such (Akuno, 2005b). Because of
that negative societal attitude, the MDD Department at Makerere University,
has often been ridiculed and that abbreviation turned into a Luganda phrase
known as Musiru Ddala Ddala used disparagingly to ridicule students who
pursue performing arts education as being very weak academically (Athieno,
2005). On a similar note, Flolu (2004: p. 172) asserts that Society has for
long regarded people pursuing studies in music and particularly the
indigenous category as those who have failed" in their academic endeavours.
In that sense they are looked at as people who opted to pursue music studies
as the last resort in their academic pursuits.
The above view thus confirms the common societal belief that such people
pursue music education as a last resort. This kind of negative attitude about
music education is reason enough for those who choose to pursue music
education to opt to specialize in the western genres so as appear educated and
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not an academically weak person (omusiru). Thus having a majority of music
educators specialized in western music negatively impacts their capacity to
teach indigenous music.
Results obtained out of the observation of facilities and study of syllabi in
tertiary education institutions (See Table 4.7) show that resources such as text
books and other music equipment are rarely in place. Generally an
examination of music education programmes in Africa still shows an acute
shortage of contextualized text books suitable for all levels of study (Mwesa,
2003). The availability of these resources is, however, governed by the
availability of funds in the institutions.
If funds are not readily available in tertiary education institutions,
procurement of other items regarded as more important other than music
equipment and books takes the priority. Thus lack of adequate resources
hinders overall musical achievement and the inadequate training also hinders
the proper use of available resources (Digolo, 1997). It negatively impacts the
capacity of music educators to teach indigenous music and poses a challenge
for the tertiary education institutions to deal with so as to embark on
preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
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5.3: Relating music curricula of the tertiary education institutions to the
task of the study.
Data on responses obtained from the mUSIC educators and presented in
chapter four indicate that content of the music curricula in tertiary education
institutions is generally western music oriented. It has little theoretical as
opposed to practical content on indigenous music. This deems it impossible
for learners to know what really makes music by staging it as a theoretical
venture (Swanwick, 1995). It is therefore important to note that literacy and
practical skills complement each other to the extent that one would not be
significantly meaningful without the other (Wanjala, 2005: p. 107). Thus at
the tertiary level of education it would be good to have a balance of
indigenous and western music content with the former being more practical
and less theoretical.
The knowledge of western music at this level of education is beneficial to
learners for consolidation of music aspects including aural and performing
skills, reading and transcription which make learners generally musically
literate. Western music should therefore be used only as a model of
knowledge and literacy and after which a decision is made on what to do with
this knowledge (Kofie, 1995), and especially its application in the study of
indigenous music. Western music knowledge, however, has always been used
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to make learners elitist. It has also often been used as the major criterion for
determining their musicality and musicianship so that they can progress to the
higher levels of academic and musical education (Kwami, 1996).
Music curricula of the tertiary education institutions are thus generally
western oriented because of factors described above. It culminates in
practical indigenous music performance sessions getting the least attention in
the curriculum. This happens because a good deal of traditional music
education has worked deductively in that the formal rules have been taught in
abstract, through verbal description or written notation, rather than the
practical context of making the sound (Hargreaves 1994). Furthermore, music
education heritage is characterized by an old pedagogical approach prevalent
in the institutions where today's lecturers were educated, which emphasizes
the theoretical nature of musical language to the detriment of a complete
experience (Frega, 1998). The end result of the abovementioned views is that
music education in tertiary education institutions remains theoretical and not
fully related to the task of indigenous music preservation and promotion.
Aural training, which IS part of the curriculum of tertiary education
institutions, is another important aspect for the task of preservation and
promotion of indigenous music. Aural musicianship is an important
component of music education and thus training in it is considered useful for
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musicianship (Mbeche-Owino, 2005). In aural instruction the teacher
demonstrates the concepts, and students participate actively in music making
through imitation and repetition by doing, in the teaching-learning process
(Omolo-Ongati, 2005). Unfortunately this important aspect of musicianship
is given the least attention in the curriculum. Thus someone who has not had
aural training cannot be self-critical in listening to their own results when
playing, or appreciate the performance of others in an intelligent way
(Mbeche-Owino, 2005).
Aural instruction and practical work are good methods of teaching both the
cognitive and psycho-motor domains (Hargreaves, 1996). These approaches
enable learners get knowledge and skills of music perception and notation
and apply them in the task of preservation and promotion of indigenous
music through notation and practical performance. They also enable learners
to acquire the ability to perform intricate indigenous polyrhythm without
necessarily taking each rhythm apart (Andang'o, 2005).
Lack of enough time for aural instruction and practical work is a pointer to
weak curricula that do not advance the desired task of indigenous music
preservation and promotion. Without enough time for aural and practical
skills training, learners cannot easily grasp and practice many indigenous
songs and dance forms with their intricacies. Revelation of the respondents
KENYATTA UNIVERSiTY LIBRARY
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that music curricula of tertiary education institutions lack content that should
lead to developing of ways of preservation and promotion of indigenous
music confirms lack of relatedness. There is therefore need to fill that gap
without experiencing the situation in Sierra Leone where the school
curriculum emphasized traditional mUSIC but gave no guidelines for
transmission of this music (Horton, 1979).
In situations where curricula lack relatedness to the task of conservation and
promotion of indigenous music, it becomes important to have music
educators with a wide music perspective, and can deliver. This is because
much depends on the value system, activities and experiences recognized and
promoted by the teacher (Kwami, 1996). Without such teachers, learners fail
to acquire proficient listening and performing skills. It prompts learners to
keep on applying the trial-and-error and improvisation methods (Cooke and
Kasule, 1999) in indigenous music education, which defeats the desired task
of meeting the challenge of preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
The use of curricula that lack appropriate content on music generally and the
indigenous category in particular, is a set back to the latter. Nzewi (1998: p.
467) describes such a situation as that of
virtual absence of any pedagogic direction in music studies in
most African countries where any teacher or lecturer carries on as
he or she can best improvise the teaching of any little-understood
music subject or instrument.
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Lack of pedagogic direction is also compounded by lack of practice of
indigenous music. This happens due to lack of time for music education,
which is generally allocated fewer hours in the curriculum (Athieno, 2005).
In this regard, the teaching of African music itself as opposed to how to teach
it, is allocated very little time or given least attention (Akuno, 2005b: p. 57).
All this implies that music educators who are also graduates of these
institutions could have studied in times of the "absence of pedagogic
direction" in indigenous music studies.
The graduates of institutions without pedagogic direction are thus bound to
have little knowledge and skills of indigenous music. It happens due to the
fact that the training institutions have not addressed themselves to the kind of
music that would sustain culture (Akuno, 2005b: p. 56). The findings stated
in chapter four, which point out that the majority of music educators are
specialized in western music therefore confirms this view. Being specialized
in western music may imply that these educators lack adequate knowledge
and skills of indigenous music and this affecting their capacity to deliver.
This together with lack of appropriate learning/teaching aids leads to lack of
pedagogic direction in indigenous music. Tertiary education institutions
therefore need to move out of this vicious cycle so as to have music curricula
136
that should effectively deal with the challenge of preservation and promotion
of indigenous music.
Music curricula that are not fully related to the task of the need to preserve
and promote indigenous music have, according to Omolo-Ongati (2005: p.
73), a large percentage of Western-oriented material in the music syllabi.
This drives music educators to improvise and teach any little-understood
topic in indigenous music and disregard its practical aspect. If any practical
work is to be done it is left to the discretion of groups of students who know
one or two songs, which they teach others (Cooke and Kasule, 1999). Peer
teaching, which involves learners communicating to their fellow learners
knowledge and skills they have learnt (Farrant, 1982: p. 43), is good if well
guided by a teacher who is versed in the topic which should also have
measurable objectives.
The above problem, however, has not helped the situation where indigenous
music repertoire has stagnated with the same old songs sung over and over
again (Kigozi, 2007). Such a situation shows that teachers do not bring with
them a repertoire of songs and dances they learnt while growing up
(Wamunyu, 1999). It is therefore imperative for them to endeavour to learn
about this material on their own and to collect resources which may not be
readily available. The above stated scenarios create a problem of improper
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interpretation and implementation of the curricula. The situation may become
worse if the curricula are not progressively delivered.
Implementation of the curriculum becomes another problem in instances
where the teacher is not sure of the content and does not have the appropriate
choice of the indigenous music that ought to be taught. It is a problem
because teachers communicate through their choice of content, their choice of
pedagogical styles and their evaluation practices (Bresler, 1996). The
teachers' choices of topics of interest and of simplicity in teaching thus
govern the way they implement the curriculum. Thus both knowledge and
expressiveness are pertinent to musical fulfillment and will greatly determine
the way one perceives and handles music (Wanjala, 2005: p. 107). In this
regard Hurst (1984: p. 27) contends that
Social values influence not merely decisions as to which
knowledge should be part of the curriculum, but also the decisions
that learners should be brought to knowledge, and perhaps what
should count as knowledge.
If the teachers' social values and decisions are thus in disagreement with
what ought to be taught, the result is teaching of content that is not related or
required in the curricula. It also erodes the confidence and effectiveness of
the teacher. Effectiveness of a teacher, according to Nketia (1967: p. 243),
depends on the quality of his training, the kind of music that he studied
himself and his willingness to learn or to search for the right material. The
138
ineffective teacher may fail to interpret and implement the curriculum with
the end result of failure to advance the task of this study.
The curricula of tertiary education institutions have, however, been designed
on what Carver (2003: p. 65) refers to as the western epistemological
paradigms of knowledge that over emphasize formal knowledge and literacy
with little or no development of practical musicianship. Paradigm of this
nature, which puts indigenous music at risk of being misrepresented, was
holistically taken over by the policy makers and implementers. The holistic
adaptation of western educational system by Africans has adversely affected
the meaning and practice of music in Africa (Omolo-Ongati, 2005: p. 73).
Thus the policy makers could have been equipped with knowledge of western
music as opposed to the indigenous category; hence curricula being generally
western music oriented. These curricula are designed that way because they
follow the education system spread over the world, which disregard ethnic
music in favour of only the western type in the learning programmes
(Nyakiti, 2004).
Akuno (2005c: p. 10) refers to the policy makers and implementers pointed
out above as
Graduates of the early education endeavours who had been
equipped with music skills and knowledge that are "different" in
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totality from the indigenous genres (material), procedures
(methods) and aesthetics (theories). These policy makers
consequently omitted the indigenous music in their planning for
education, because you can't give what you don't have.
On a related note Nzewi (2001: p. 21) refers to them as
The inheritors who have been corrupted with strange, fanciful but
synthetic fruits and thus abdicated their responsibility to reap the
harvest of the abundant and ripe orchard of African musical
knowledge.
In regard to the above views, it is important that tertiary education institutions
redesign their curricula with focus on promoting the teaching of indigenous
genres of music, which have been disregarded by policy makers. Redesigning
of the curricula need also focus on reaping and utilizing the "abundant and
ripe" indigenous musical knowledge so as to enhance the conservation and
promotion of this genre of music. There is need for tertiary education
institutions to ensure that their curricula are related to the task of the study so
as to deal with the challenge at hand.
However, when curricula of these institutions are western music oriented, as
the findings reveal, their role in dealing with the challenge of the study
becomes minimal. This means they may not be able to oversee the designing
and implementation of curricula that influences musicality of the societies as
suggested in the conceptual framework. Lack of relatedness of the curricula
to the indigenous music cannot enhance its development, promotion and
140
preservation. This has been caused by various factors one of which is the
earlier colonial/missionary music programmes that promoted western music
while disregarding the indigenous type.
Another factor that causes lack of relatedness is the need to produce teachers
to handle the Universal Primary and Secondary Education systems. This is
geared towards fulfilling the Government general aim of the Education
Policy Review. As such all Primary and National Teachers' Colleges and
almost all universities in the geographical area of study offer curricula
designed for the preparation and production of teacher trainees to be
employed as teachers in primary and secondary schools respectively.
Music curricula in these tertiary education institutions are therefore designed
to give teacher trainees ability to read, understand and write western music.
The above stated factors have consequently led to institutions having content
that is western music oriented. This implies that the institutions of higher
learning in Uganda offer music education curricula with little relatedness to
the need to enhance and promote indigenous music.
Tertiary education institutions in Uganda thus need to focus on redesigning
their curricula with greater attention given to the teaching of indigenous
music. They could do this by borrowing a leaf from Kenya where Digolo
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(2005: p. 97) contends that syllabuses currently used in Kenyan institutions
of higher learning represent attempts to bridge the gap between the educated
Kenyan and his or her cultural environment. Creating links between music in
these formal institutions and that experienced in community life is one way
of bridging the gap. In this regard Nketia (1967: p. 239) contends that
Appropriate African music curricula can be successful depending
on how contemporary Africans see music education in relation to
their society, remembering that music can be at once an instrument
of change and a means of fostering and preserving the musical
value of a culture.
It is therefore important that curricula are redesigned with the view to taking
into account the current trend of developments in education generally so that
focus is put on indigenous music at the expense of corresponding western
music education.
Curricula that are designed in Yule's views (See theoretical framework on
page 46) possibly makes content related to a student's cultural settings and its
music. These curricula ought to be designed with the view of making them
constructive in the sense of having music educators, students, teaching
materials and environment interact in the context of dialogue (Yule, 2004).
Designing of the curricula in this manner leads to the systematization of
content in the curricula with the aim of guiding students to interact with the
142
environment through fieldwork experience and thus achieving the aim of this
study.
By following Yule's view of design of the curriculum students should be able
to acquire knowledge and skills of indigenous music from original sources,
record indigenous music and thereby practice music in their local settings. It
enables the institutions to have "living curricula" in which indigenous music
remains "a lived" and an ever- promoted activity in the institutions and
community (Nzewi, 1998). Tertiary education institutions, however, do not
follow Yule's concept of curriculum when designing their own. As such,
curricula of these institutions are not "living". They also lack relatedness to
the task of preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
5.4: Availability of human and technical resources in tertiary education
institutions
Data provided by music educators as regards the availability of human and
technical resources in tertiary education institutions for the task of
preservation and promotion of indigenous music tells a bleak tale. It reveals
that there are generally few music educators in tertiary education institutions.
Each of the 13 Primary Teachers' Colleges where data for this study was
collected was found to have only 1 music tutor available.
143
The single tutor in a Primary Teachers' College teaches every course unit of
music in all the classes attended by the 1st and 2nd year students in the
college. Each of the 3 National Teachers' Colleges and 6 Universities in the
geographical area of the study has either 3 or 4 lecturers of music. This
proportion of tutors and lecturers is inadequate for effective management of
music education in tertiary institutions. Thus the prospect of so much work
definitely fills these music educators with consternation, leading to their
failure to effectively teach.
Although there is a government policy on recruitment of tutors and lecturers
for Primary Teachers' and National Teachers' Colleges respectively, it would
benefit education generally if the current staff establishment were revised.
The capacity of music educators in tertiary education institutions is
inadequate for the handling of lecture and practical hours of various courses
in both indigenous and western music. This staff establishment in
government institutions could have been designed with the notion that music
has fewer hours in the curriculum and does not require as large a number of
personnel as other subjects (Athieno, 2005). Thus chances are very high that
the single tutor in a Primary Teachers' College or the 3 music educators in a
National Teachers' College are all specialized in western music, thus leaving
indigenous music with little or no attention at all.
144
This issue of specialization is prevalent in institutions because the curriculum
they followed in their training laid emphasis on western music which they are
more comfortable teaching than African music (Anangwe, 2002; Digolo,
2005). As such Kofie (1995: p. 15) contends that music departments in many
institutions practice division of labour where teachers of harmony and
western music in general have nothing to do with courses taught on African
music. Thus the trend of music educators being comfortable with the teaching
of Western rather than African music has led them and their students to give
undue prestige to the former at the expense of the latter (Digolo, 2007: p. 96).
These views point out a paradigm for division of labour, in favour of western
music, being entrenched in tertiary education institutions to the detriment of
the indigenous academy that lacks educators.
Division of labour in institutions does not effectively apply in Uganda where
there is generally lack of specialized music educators. Primary and National
Teachers' Colleges and almost all Universities in the geographical area of
study, do not offer any other specialized opportunities to learners, besides
education programmes. Findings of the observation of facilities and syllabi in
tertiary education institutions (See Table 4.7) reveal this. It concurs with the
views of Kigozi (2007: p. 136) who contends that
None of the diploma and degree programmes in institutions offer
any specialized opportunities in music generally. Specialization is
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only for those trained in Kampala Music School (KMS) under the
Associated Board ofthe Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM).
This leaves talented indigenous mUSICIans without formalized training
opportunities to pursue studies on indigenous dance, musical instrument
playing and theory.
The only specialized programme offered by many Universities and Teachers'
Colleges is for the training of different grades of music educators to be
employed in either primary or secondary schools or the PTC or NTC
depending on the grade attained. According to the findings it is only
Makerere University which offers specialized programmes in western music
that are not directed at teacher education. The MDD programme at Makerere
University also offers a significant number of music styles, though western
classical music is still dominant (Kigozi, 2007: p. 144). Thus specialization in
indigenous music as such is very minimal and is an indicator of lack of
human resources in tertiary education institutions for the task of preservation
and promotion of indigenous music.
The issue of specialization in the teaching of Western music theory, harmony
and history stems out of alienation that is bred right from the time of training
at the tertiary education institutions. This is because decision makers and
most teachers in institutions and schools are trained in Western music, and
146
thus music curricula are generally designed to typically favour this category
of music (Regelski, 2009). That kind of specialization is the root cause of
decisions made as to the syllabi and curricula that negate the knowledge in
African education especially in the institutions (Carver, 2003). In light of this
specialization, Nzewi (1998: p. 463) is skeptical about the capacity of the
western music specialist in that
the content and pedagogical approaches used in western music
teaching in institutions are parodies of foreign models that leave
teachers and learners lacking the adequate intellectual and
necessary exposure.
With a similar view to that ofNzewi above, Akuno (2005b: p. 35) asserts that
the western music academy is greatly wanting as musical concepts
and ideas are taught theoretically, with an emphasis on the history
and theory of western music. At the same time the teaching of
literacy is done in a mathematical way without relating notes to
the sounds they represent.
This implies that music educators with specialty in western music lack the
required practical skills to teach content on western music. It also implies
they are greatly wanting in knowledge and skills of indigenous music.
Consequently this situation where the majority is specialized in western
music education is an indicator of the dire need of human resources in tertiary
education institutions to meet the challenge for the need to preserve and
promote indigenous music.
147
Music educators who are specialized in western music are bound to totally
lack intellectual exposure in knowledge and skills on indigenous music
practice, unless they acquired it through various ways as they grew up. This
concurs with the views of Takeshi (2000: p. 381) who contends that many
music teachers do not experience traditional music at teachers' colleges or
universities and remain unfamiliar with such music. Data on observation of
facilities and study of music syllabi prevalent in the tertiary education
institutions (see table 4.7) shows that very few tertiary institutions
incorporate units of indigenous music in their curricula. The syllabuses do
not emphatically promote indigenous music because the foundation stone that
was laid for music education was based on Western values as a result of the
Christian Missionary work in Uganda (Kigozi, 2007: p. 129). Thus the
greatly needed human resources to teach indigenous music are rarely
available. Furthermore, the small number of the teaching staff in institutions
may not be able to effectively teach all areas of both western and indigenous
music.
The exposure of music educators to research, recording and transcription of
indigenous music using modern technology is another task that is rarely done
by music educators in the institutions. Seemingly there is no content on
research methods in the music curricula of the Primary and National
148
Teachers' Colleges. In this regard, Kigozi (2007: p. 128) affirms that
programmes in Primary Teachers' Colleges in Uganda encompass mUSIC
component because all primary teachers are responsible for basic mUSIC
education. Conversely some individual schools may hire a music specialist.
Curriculum designers and policy makers being aware of such a condition
could endeavour to ensure that curricula in Primary Teachers' Colleges are
rich enough to produce an all round teacher. But having an all round teacher
implies that a person is 'a jack of all trades but a master of none'. Thus
teachers in primary schools, whether they are jacks of all trades or not, have
to teach music because the curriculum was designed that way.
Lack of training in research methodology, and knowledge to use modern
digital audio and audio-visual equipment for recording and archiving
indigenous music, make music educators fail to carry out this task.
Furthermore, the few educators who are required to handle all units of both
western and indigenous music, understandably could disregard other tasks,
which may be required of them. All this is further compounded by lack of
music educators versed in the processes of indigenous music collection,
transcription and storage. This requires the stimulation of research initiatives
that are carried out with the participation of the communities in which they
originate and are held (Masoga, 2005).
149
The above scenarios paint a picture of great lack of human resources ill
tertiary education institutions. In this regard Josephs, in Herbst (2005: p. 14)
states that lack of resources is a real problem in teaching institutions, as they
do not have human resources such as traditional players who are specifically
trained in terms of musicianship and 'methodology'. The absence of
personnel with skills and methodology in indigenous music implies that there
is a big gap that needs to be filled. Hiring of services of indigenous music
practitioners as resource persons can help budge the gap.
The knowledge, skills and long term practice of indigenous Il1USicby these
music practitioners make them the most suitable teachers for these genres of
music. They are thus regarded as more competent teachers of indigenous
music than some scholars who also have few publications that represent a
systematic body of scholarship and research related to teaching systems of
African music (Flolu, 2005). This view affirms the notion that the indigenous
music practitioners are capable of excellent work in the teaching of
indigenous music, if employed by the tertiary education institutions.
Skills and competence of the indigenous music practitioners make them fit
very well into the Scientific Management theory (Bobbit, 1918 in Corbett,
2008). This theory advocates for identification, taking notes and making use
of skilled persons like indigenous music practitioners to train others. Thus,
150
copying the work methods and skills of these musicians could ultimately help
in training learners in the institutions. Unfortunately these musicians are
rarely available in the institutions as revealed by data from the majority of the
respondents. All the above therefore point out that human resources needed
in tertiary education institutions for the task of this study are rarely available.
As regards the availability of technical resources a majority of the tertiary
education institutions were found to have a variety of indigenous musical
instruments (See plate 5.1 below).
Plate 5.1: A variety of indigenous musical instruments in an institution
151
These musical instruments are highly essential resources for teaching
conventional indigenous musical concepts. Their use makes indigenous
music learning more practical and meaningful. They are also helpful in the
task of promotion of indigenous socio-cultural identity by making learners
practically use and know the particular contexts with which each one of them
is associated (Blacking, 1966).
When these local instruments are used they are easily and readily understood
because when played or seen, memories vital to culture are invoked, making
the teaching and performance more meaningful (Mubita et al, 2005). It is
therefore good that they are readily available in the institutions.
Unfortunately, however, policy makers and administrators as a whole do not
supply music educators with sufficient facilities to enable them effectively
deliver the curriculum (Kigozi, 2007: p. 137). Consequently availability of
facilities without the requisite human resources to use them effectively in
teaching serves no purpose as far as the task of preservation and promotion of
indigenous music is concerned.
Many tertiary education institutions, however, lack physical facilities in form
of music resource and practice rooms for use in indigenous music practical
work. In this regard Tindall (1993: p. 16) points out that one of the
prerequisites for a good learning programme is a satisfactory building in
152
which children have plenty of space to learn and explore and where adequate
playing equipment can be set out. In institutions where appropriate buildings
are not available, Kigozi (2007: p. 139) asserts that music education lessons
therein are delivered in ordinary classrooms and sometimes outside on the
lawn or under a tree.
Traditionally, mUSIC making is an institutional part of the life of a
community, any suitable area for collective activity can be used as a physical
setting (Abrokwaa, 1999). Since indigenous music as practised by its makers
has always been performed in open spaces and not in closed rooms or
buildings, tertiary education institutions can do likewise rather than being
bogged down by lack of practice rooms. In any case, tertiary education
institutions must be having open spaces where indigenous music can be
practised.
The use of resource and practice rooms, however, is a western paradigm,
which underplays indigenous music practice. Furthermore, rooms in most
institutions are not sound proof; therefore any loud performance of
indigenous mUSIC easily interferes with lesson delivery in the nearby
classrooms. Resource rooms are, however, essential for the storage or safe
153
keeping of the musical instruments. The absence of resource rooms therefore
means that the musical instruments lack safe and appropriate storage.
In regard to availability of text books as part of technical resources, many
tertiary education institutions were found to be without any text or reference
books on African music. Insufficient resources, especially books, are among
the many problems teachers of African music have faced for a long time
(Nketia, 1967: p. 240). These books should be employed in the teaching of
indigenous music. If the books were, however, readily available they would
be used for theoretical knowledge and not to develop skills that are essential
for practice.
Theoretical knowledge alone without practical skills cannot aid the
development of skills needed for the task of promotion of indigenous music.
In this regard Herbst quoting Miya (2005: p. 15) contends that other than
depending on book knowledge of teaching by merely reading about
indigenous music, fieldwork by deploying students to collect their
information, songs and experience dances in the surrounding localities can be
employed. Miya's innovation can enable institutions to depart from the norm
of imparting theoretical book knowledge and hence move away from the
problem of lack of text books on African music.
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In order to address the problem of lack of technical resources and especially
text books, institutions ought to embark on surfing the internet for up to date
knowledge and skills of music practice. This is necessary to enable music
educators and students in institutions keep abreast with new developments in
technology in this age of globalization and computer generated musical
performances (Russ, 2002). Keeping abreast with new developments through
the use of the internet enables music educators to access new knowledge and
remain in touch with other music professional around the globe (Mpungu,
1999).
Although access to the internet may be a challenge especially in areas far
away from urban centres, knowledge acquired from its use is essential to give
guidance on newer forms of equipment like digital audio, visual and
audiovisual recording facilities. Thus, to ensure the long term relevance of
music education as a profession, music educators ought to make computer
technology an integral part of their work (Williams, 1992), though access to
computers, like the internet may still be a challenge.
There is generally an acute shortage of the above stated new forms of music
education facilities in institutions. Many Primary and National Teachers'
Colleges in particular lack these facilities. Results of the survey (see table
4.7) reveals that very few institutions have at least either digital audio, digital
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visual or audiovisual recording facilities. Facilities of this kind are necessary
for recording, playback for audio and visual purposes, archiving and
preservation of indigenous music performances essential for use in teaching
and preservation of music for posterity. They are also very essential for
effective teaching and enabling of learners to acquire knowledge and skills in
indigenous music and practice.
Much of teaching of indigenous mUSIC skills and knowledge involves
watching, listening and practising what the "skilled teacher" has
demonstrated live or in a recording, as well as making instruments from
found materials (Kwami, 2003). This unfortunately rarely takes place in
tertiary education institutions, due to lack of human, financial and
technological resources, as pointed out in the findings above. As such, the
teaching of music is often done theoretically and sometimes by use of some
few charts (Athieno, 2009).
Worse still, the institutions lack various tools for the making and repair of
traditional musical instruments. Thus when traditional musical instruments
get damaged (See plate 5.2 below), they are abandoned and may never be
used again. Further, if funds are not available for procurement of new ones,
the performance of indigenous music in tertiary education institutions also
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comes to a halt indefinitely. Financial resources control and determine the
availability of both human and technical resources. If funds are scarce,
psychological and material support also dwindles making music education
and the educators feel desolate (Reimer, 1970), and face the danger of losing
perspective.
Plate 5.2: Some damaged musical instruments in an institution
This scenano has made tertiary education institutions neither avail the
necessary technological resources nor hire services of indigenous musicians
for the teaching of indigenous music. Most music educators rely on whoever
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IS responsible for teaching music to come up with creative ways of
instruction without any teaching media (Cooke and Kasule, 1999). This
applies mainly to Primary and National Teachers' Colleges.
Though financial resources are scarce in institutions, Ongong'a (2005: p. 7)
on a promising note remarked that Vice Chancellors and Rectors of public
Universities in Kenya shall pull all available strings to ensure that culture
receives its fair amount of attention in the University agenda. This, according
to him, should ensure that music is not sidelined by science and Information
and Communication Technology (lCT). The administrators of tertiary
education institutions in Uganda ought to emulate this move and open
avenues for promotion and preservation of indigenous music.
Unfortunately where resources remain limited with little expertise, the results
cannot be satisfactory; hence learners end up without satisfactory education.
They also in most cases fail to gain the intended knowledge. In this regard
Onyango (1985: 76) affirms that unfavorable teaching and learning
conditions, coupled with the government's failure to address these conditions,
are largely the reason for the lack of commitment of both students and
teachers to their work. There is therefore need for the government and tertiary
158
education institutions to address the above problems and hence preservation
and promotion of indigenous music.
5.5: Engagement of the tertiary education institutions in productive roles
Data provided by the respondents reveal that they acknowledge the need to
articulate new roles for tertiary education institutions to play in the
preservation and promotion of indigenous music. The new roles form an
agenda for self improvement. They lead to insights into new ways of
responding to music, new forms of musical knowledge and ways in which
this knowledge can be framed (Finney and Tymoczko, 2003). They also
constitute music items that music education needs most to optimize both its
specific activities and its general status to give a clear sense of direction
(Reimer, 1970). Direction in this study is that of the task of preservation and
promotion of indigenous music.
Field work for the purpose of collecting and recording indigenous music
performances is one of the productive roles that tertiary education institutions
are expected to engage in. It enables both learners and music educators to
engage themselves in an oral approach and practical experience to learning
indigenous music. This genre of music is rarely found in written texts as in
traditional African music there is no need for notation. This is because the
skills of drumming and knowledge of traditional drumming patterns are
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passed on from generation to generation (Vulliamy and Lee, 1982). Thus the
basis of indigenous music education is the oral tradition, which includes the
performance of vocal and instrumental music interwoven with dance and all
of them playing a significant role in indigenous pedagogy (Joseph, 2003).
Since an oral approach has basically been the mode of transmission and
learning of indigenous music, there is need for tertiary education institutions
to embark on the role of collecting and recording indigenous genres of this
music. This is best done through field work with the view to achieving the
need to preserve and promote indigenous music. Without fieldwork recording
and experience, the important indigenous music education that both learners
and music educators ought to gain through oral tradition is not achieved.
Lack of collecting and recording of indigenous music through field work is
caused by various factors, including lack of funds, lack of time and lack
commitment. Without these aforesaid factors collecting and recording of
indigenous music cannot be successful.
Carrying out continuous research on indigenous music is one other new role
that tertiary education institutions are expected to undertake in their task of
addressing the challenge at hand. It needs commitment of the music
educators for its success so as to optimize music education. In this regard the
underlying need of a music educator is research, which may be costly or not,
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such as asking a grandmother about the musical instrument of her day
(Nakirya, 2005). Conversely, the findings reveal that research is rarely
carried out in tertiary education institutions .
. Lack of research creates a built-in disconnection between the music taught
and performed in institutions, and the music our students know at home
(Allsup, 2003). The music students know at home is partly the indigenous
one, which they were born into and is practised by the society where they
have continuously lived. They also know music of the modern world, which
has tended to undermine the indigenous category. In this regard, it is
important for music educators to ensure that the teaching of indigenous music
brings out its aesthetic satisfaction as an important part of the life of every
individual (Kabalevsky, 1988), and above all have a place in the students'
lived world.
The above stated views underpin the scholarly value of research. Tertiary
education institutions have, however, underestimated the value of research by
not engaging in it. These views focus on the need for tertiary education
institutions to embark on research and accommodate all other expected new
roles amongst which are collecting and recording of indigenous music.
Recording goes hand-in-hand with the development of archives for these
recordings. The development and use of archives is rarely practised in a
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number of institutions. This is because they lack resource rooms, personnel
with knowledge and skills in recording and the necessary facilities for
recording, viewing and listening to recorded works.
Archiving is a better way of keeping music alive within the communities and
also giving history to the people to make them know that "we are who we
were" (Strumpf, 2009: p. 3). Furthermore archiving of recordings can be used
to serve the communities and enable institutions to work with these
communities towards a sustainable indigenous music (Fargion, 2009). Using
archives to benefit the communities keeps music alive and as not something
that is kept as an example in a museum (Stephens, 2000). Thus, without
recording and archiving materials of indigenous music, the problem of this
study which is gradual weakening, mutilation and the threat of extinction of
Uganda's invaluable and rich indigenous music genres may not be reversed.
Tertiary education institutions are well placed to take lead in dealing with the
challenge.
Establishment of the archives in the institutions ultimately leads to
enhancement and promotion of indigenous music for posterity. It
consequently provides great benefit to Uganda's cultural institutions, which
are the custodians of indigenous music (MoGLSD, 2006). The revival of the
cultural institutions in Uganda has activated music practice in a number of
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kingdoms and chiefdoms, which serve as the centre for cultural practices.
This has created the urgent need for conservation and promotion of
indigenous music. It has also put tertiary education institutions at the
forefront with their main thrust being the development and continuity of
indigenous music. Besides, their new productive role is to focus on the
archiving of music of the cultural institutions for posterity. This requires the
institutions to re-define their roles, and be proactive in suggesting fresh ways
of working, which enhance the musical experience of learners and revitalize
the role of teachers and musicians (Cox, 2002).
The promotion of establishment of cultural archives by tertiary education
institutions requires the availability of various kinds of technical facilities.
Tertiary education institutions are well placed to have such facilities. The
institutions, however, lack the desired various facilities for this cause.
Consequently, management of the cultural archives, if established, also needs
committed indigenous musicians with deeply rooted knowledge and skills of
both indigenous music practice and archives management as archivists for
strong input towards its promotion and preservation. Achieving this new role
places the onus on tertiary education institutions. If done, it empowers each
ethnic group or cultural institution to establish her indigenous music archives
for posterity and make this music genre thrive and survive the test of time.
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Putting the views stated above in their rightful perspective paves the way for
engagement in other productive roles expected of the tertiary institutions.
They include guiding indigenous musicians in their performances, active
performance of indigenous music and offering tailored courses to indigenous
musicians to upgrade their knowledge and skills of indigenous music
preservation and promotion. These views remain as the guiding principle to
the tertiary education institutions in dealing with the challenge of
preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
A similar curriculum designed for the task of offering courses to benefit
specialist musicians has been successfully carried out in Ireland. This
according to Suilleabhain (2005: p. 31), was done through changing the
university entrance procedures in such a manner as to facilitate traditional
musicians to gain access to the degree programmes. Tertiary education
institutions in Uganda can do likewise by creating aligned pathways for
indigenous mUSICIans regardless of their background, to acquire formal
knowledge. This knowledge is beneficial for further development of the local
musicians' musicality and enhancement of indigenous music study and
practice.
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Such curricula with tailored courses grve indigenous mUSICIans
encouragement to continue practicing their skills, and exposure to other
cultures. It also enables them acquire knowledge and skills of indigenous
music preservation that surpasses what they have ever practiced. Exposing
learners to other cultures is necessary as we live in a multicultural and diverse
society and not in isolation (Oehrle, 1991). These views give fresh impetus to
cause change to the trend from a dormant role to that which is actively
practised in tertiary education institutions. Although a number of new roles
expected of tertiary education institutions are not practised, the role of
actively engaging in performance of indigenous music is practiced by the
majority.
5.6: New ideas achieved by indigenous music practitioners from the
programmes of the tertiary education institutions
Data from interviews with indigenous musicians form the basis for discussion
in this section. The findings show that very few indigenous musicians have
had some interactions with tertiary education institutions. These interactions
are in form of activities geared toward annual inter-house music and dance
competitions in the institutions. Apart from this, the tertiary education
institutions do not have programmes designed to benefit communities and
promote indigenous music practice.
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Lack of outreach programmes in tertiary education institutions could have
risen out of what Akuno (2004: p. 10) describes as the tendency of scholars to
over-blow their ability when they present themselves as the sole custodians of
truth consequently eclipsing the contribution of non-scholars. On a similar
note Keegan-Phipps (2007: p. 88) observes that the basis of all educative
practices is the notion that information be passed down from those with
specific knowledge and skills to those without. Tertiary education scholars
could be over-blowing their ability and strengthening their intention of
passing down only knowledge and skills of western music, thereby limiting
access to this knowledge. As custodians of all music education, they may see
no reason to have outreach programmes for the local communities.
A majority of the indigenous musicians, however, showed appreciation for
learning a lot from constructive theoretical criticism and guidance received
from various categories of people associated with tertiary education
institutions. Different categories of people referred to here include music
educators, students and graduates of these institutions. Even though personnel
of these tertiary education institutions seem to lack skill in indigenous music
performance, they have very constructive ideas on ways of perfecting
indigenous performance styles (Jowelia Kasolo, Informant, 2007).
166
Performance guiding acumen of the music educators is the result of having
their innate aesthetics developed through music education at higher levels
(Leonhard and House, 1959). Thus they are able to give constructive ideas in
the art of having acceptable and pleasing organized stage craft and use, that
spell out authentic dance presentations, well designed and smart indigenous
costumes, and controlled singing of indigenous music. All these are aspects
of the modern stage craft as opposed to the typical indigenous setting.
The majority of respondents stated that they do not perform music outside
their own ethnic cultures because of lack of appropriate knowledge and skills
in indigenous music of other cultures. This concurs with the views of Ezewu
(1983: p. 54), when he asserts that for a person to perform skillfully in
society he must have been fully brought up and trained in that culture. The
issue of lack of knowledge on authenticity and development of indigenous
performance costumes and dance accompaniment among the indigenous
music practitioners, however, contradicts the above view.
On a similar note Wamunyu (1999: p. 2) contends that many people have
learnt knowledge and skills of their ethnic music performances from school
where they easily come into contact with these genres of music. Thus they
could lack knowledge on authenticity and development of indigenous music
167
due to failure to go an extra step to learn more from elders about the
background and developments of their own ethnic music.
A large number of the respondents articulated steps they normally take to
manage disparity between the typical indigenous music performing situation
and the concept of modem stage setting. According to these indigenous
musicians, the situation on the ground in regard to response of the audience
normally aids them in handling the situation. This is because the listening
audience would join in the performance and participate in one way or another
as the activities of the performing occasion demanded (Flolu, 2005; Oerhle,
1993).
In some instances, however, the vast majority of the country's population
remains as a passive listener resulting in a producing-listening minority and a
merely listening majority (Seeger, 1966). The modem audiences fulfill the
above views in that they have the habit of joining in performances as the
music may move them, dancing, shouting encouragement or praise as the
music goes on (Akuno, 2005b, pp. 87-88). In some cases they may join after
it has progressed almost halfway (See plate 5.3 below).
168
Plate 5.3: A woman from the audience joining in the dance performance
Other indigenous musicians stated that they study the composition of the
audience, before staging a music performance. This gives them an
opportunity to plan and redesign the stage setting and performance situation.
Thus they look for ways of accommodating both the typical indigenous
situation and the modem stage settings in their performances, which take
place at any public function, ceremony or cultural gala. The use of modem
stage craft is one other art that they learnt from performances at tertiary
education institutions. Because of all these achievements indigenous
169
musicians are very much ready to reap a lot more knowledge and skills from
what they regard as well packaged performance guidance from the tertiary
education institutions. The ability of the institutions to effectively guide
performers arises from the basis of acculturation due to interface with
students and lecturers from various cultures. This arises from the tendency of
ethnic groups to borrow from cultures of other groups (Ociti, 1994). The
same case applies in institutions of learning.
It is important to note that a good number of the respondents have attained
education up to secondary school level though not specifically in music.
Education normally strives to train well balanced citizens (Bruner, 1966),
whose accumulated traditional-indigenous-cultural knowledge practice is
beneficial in society within a cultural context (Masoga, 2002). This has an
added advantage to the ways they learn and grasp skills of indigenous music
performance of different cultures. A few of these performers are graduates
with diplomas in music education attained from the tertiary education
institutions. Others hold diplomas in music and dance from Makerere
University where they achieved knowledge and skills in the performance of
indigenous music and also undertook skills in video tape recording. Leaders
and some members of two renowned groups namely Ndere Troupe and Nile
170
Beat Artists, are holders of bachelors' degree III mUSlC and dance from
Makerere University.
Ultimately, one who has undergone musical training gets elevated to a new
status (Akuno, 2005c: p. 16). That kind of person shifts from a state of not
knowing 'what' or 'how' or 'what's what' to an informed and skilled person
(Swanwick, 1988). Formal music education attained by most of the
respondents of this study gives them an opportunity to learn multi-cultural
dance forms and stage inter-cultural performances during public functions.
Following their attainment of knowledge and skills of multi-cultural dance
forms Ndere Troupe and Nile Beat Artists stage inter-cultural performances
in their organized designated places. Ndere Troupe performs at Ndere
amphitheatre in their centre about 10 kilometres north of Kampala city, while
Nile Beat Artists performs at the Source of the Nile near Jinja town. These
renowned groups also have a number of both audio and visual digital
recordings of indigenous music performances. The skill of digital recording
that the leaders of these two renowned troupes employ was learnt from their
time of study at Makerere University (Walusimbi - informant, 2007). The
recordings are viewed or listened to in order to learn the skills therein, hence
a step towards preservation and promotion of indigenous music. Tertiary
171
education institutions could emulate this art of recording of indigenous
performances so as to help them deal with the challenge of this study.
Staging inter-cultural performances, which is reminiscent of renowned
performing groups, provides an opportunity for the audience to view and
appreciate performances of music from communities other than their own.
Ndere Troupe quite often organizes inter-cultural performances dubbed the
Sunday family hour at Ndere centre. This time is always delightful to both
children and adults, who feel cultural ripples move from dancers and singers
and sweep through the crowd (Ssejjengo, 2005). An interface of this nature
provides an opportunity for people to enjoy their own indigenous music and
also appreciate those outside their ethnic areas.
The above stated inter-cultural performances provide a learning experience
for many people. As such they get an understanding of various ethnic
performances and the need to preserve and promote indigenous genres of
music. Tertiary education institutions being in the same geographical area
with these renowned troupes have the opportunity to emulate their
organizational skills for the purpose of designing appropriate curricula and
programmes for enhancement and promotion of indigenous music.
172
Most indigenous music practitioners interviewed highly regard lecturers of
tertiary education institutions and members of Ndere Troupe and Nile Beat
Artists. This is because music educators in institutions and leaders of the
above troupes, being university graduates, are regarded as experienced in
knowledge and skills of various ethnic music practices acquired through
university education. Other indigenous music practitioners, however, are
skeptical about the authenticity of the inter-ethnic performances staged by
some renowned troupes. According to them, there is a lot of creativity and
inauthentic movements dominating a number of indigenous dance forms,
borrowed from commercialized foreign performers. These sentiments
confirm the fear of indigenous music undergoing mutilation if not conserved
(Manani, 1966) and its authenticity diluted by commercial minded
performers.
The exposure of indigenous musicians to music practices of cultures other
than their own has resulted in the adaptation of foreign styles and practices,
and thus creating a hybrid kind of performance (Akuno, 2005b: p. 29). The
purpose of this kind of creativity in an indigenous performance is for
commercial gain and entertainment rather than the promotion and
preservation of the authenticity of music and dance forms. It is for pseudo-
professional artistes who perform traditional music to passive audience and
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for the tourist clientele (Omondi, 1984). This makes them adulterate
indigenous music and dance forms for commercial purposes, which is not
wholly a creation and responsibility of the tertiary education institutions.
Data from the survey of music syllabi and facilities in institutions shows that
there is only one university that offers specialized studies in dance. This
includes units for Uganda's indigenous dance forms, dance forms outside
Uganda and modem creative dance forms. The pseudo-professional
performers who attained knowledge and skills of modem dance choreography
use it to adulterate indigenous dance forms. They resort. to pseudo-
professionalism by keeping themselves busy in schedules of encroachment
into indigenous performance from different cultures (Omondi, 1984), hence
putting aside authenticity and integrity of the indigenous music they perform.
This poses a challenge to the tertiary education institutions to design
appropriate programmes for guiding learners and the communities in
promoting and preservmg authentic indigenous mUSIC and dance
performances.
174
Some of the group leaders interviewed6 confidently stated that they
endeavour not to indulge in pseudo-professionalism in any way. Interviews
with these leaders revealed that they have emulated a lot of performance art
from the tertiary education institutions and Nile Beat Artists troupe in
particular, which has given them an indelible memory of good performance
of indigenous music. According to Ngobi Kopolo (informant, 2007) the
intention of his group in emulating the institutions and Nile Beat Artists is
three fold:
In the first instance they have not as yet seen instances of
commercial-driven creativity in performances of these institutions.
Thus they get constructive ideas that make them perform so as to
earn their livelihood by engaging in entertainment of guests or
performing at social, cultural or ritual functions.
Secondly their intention is to change the notion that a musician is a
social failure and attains that status if he is without any economic
strength.
Thirdly they use this art to promote aesthetic and authentic
performances to make indigenous music of Busoga remain a
cherished treasure and source of pride for the community they
represent.
Having the same mind as that of the indigenous music practitioners stated
above, keeps indigenous music performance authentic, preserved and
promoted. This calls for all the indigenous music performing groups to put
promotion of aesthetic and authentic performance above other things. It is
this kind of attitude which makes Akuno (2005a: p. 57) contends that music
6 Muzigu Salimu of Budondo on 6th November, 2007 and Kasolo Jowelia of Lwanika Majja
Women's group on 7tl1 November, 2007.
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enables one to relate with self, with others and with the environment and thus
facilitate cohesion as it facilitates, creates and maintains relationships.
Tertiary education institutions ought therefore to devise means of monitoring
and guiding indigenous performances to ensure that indigenous music
remains authentic, preserved and promoted.
Plate 5.4 below shows Budondo Cultural Group in Jinja district
demonstrating their attempts in promoting aesthetic and authentic
performance attire. When indigenous dance attire is used in a performance, it
promotes the beauty, dignity and socio-cultural identity of an ethnic group
(Kigozi, 2007).
Plate 5.4: Budondo Cultural Group performers
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The use of raffia sash and leveled lower part of the bottom skirt as donned by
the dancer on the right, in the above plate, is part of the dressing code
Budondo cultural group achieved from performances of the tertiary education
institutions. This supplements the use of any piece of cloth tied as a dance
waist-band leaving the lower level uneven and untidy as donned by the
dancer on the left in the above plate. It also makes the dancer much smarter,
more dignified and showcases aesthetically presentable indigenous attire.
Culturally raffia sash, which was an innovation of schools and tertiary
education institutions, was adopted and accepted as an indigenous costume in
indigenous dance performances. According to Ngobi Moses and Kyakwise
Stephen (interviewed on 21 st August, 2009) the design and use of raffia
sashes to replace isandha, originated from institutions, and were then copied
by indigenous music performing groups. Thus those who fail to get the raffia
and he-goat skin use any piece of cloth especially when prior arrangements
for performance attire have not been made.
The tradition of using any cloth as the dance waist-band normally takes place
at various functions. It happens out of excitement where people suddenly
fasten jackets or any piece of cloth around their waists and join in the dance
performance (Kyakwise, discussion on authenticity, 21 st August, 2009). A
jacket or any piece of cloth is used in a dance to show the waist as a place of
177
emphasis and also as an aid in exaggeration of the waist movement (Ngobi,
discussion on authenticity, 215t August, 2009).
Plate 5.5 below is that of performance of Lwanika Bakuseka Maja women
group m Bugiri district demonstrating authentic performance of nalufuka
dance.
Plate 5.5: Lwanika Bakuseka Maja Women Group
The long loose dress traditionally called gomesi' donned by women dancers
in the above plate are traditional attires normally worn for social outings,
ceremonies and various functions. Although gomesi is a traditional dress, the
7 The word gomesi is used in both singular and plural forms (Ssebuwufu, 2009).
178
royal court dancers of the Buganda kingdom realized that its length, which
flows down to almost cover the feet, cannot enable dancers perform freely
(Ssennoga-Majwala, discussion on 10th September, 2009). Thus the kikoyi or
kitambi, which was originally worn as a traditional undergarment in gomesi
was then used as dancing attire instead of the gomesi.
The original and traditional name of the undergarment in gomesi is kitambi
derived from the word kitamba meaning to keep away (Musisi-Mukalazi,
interviewed on 13th August 2009). Thus the fabric was used as an
undergarment keep away nudity in transparent dresses. According to
Ssebuwufu (interviewed on 13th September 2009), the use of kikoyi or
kitambi as an outer garment started with performance of the embaga, a
wedding dance in Buganda. The use of kikoyi/kitambi was later re-designed
and popularized by the institutions during school or institutional music and
dance competitions, and has then been adopted and culturally accepted as
dancing attire (Kyakwise, 2009; Ssebuwufu, 2009). Lwanika Bakuseka Maja
Women Group, having learnt of the use of suitably designed indigenous
dancing attire is still short of funds to acquire them and continue to dance in
gomesi as in plate 5.5 on page 177.
Plate 5.6 on the next page is a performance of Muwewesi xylophone group
dancers demonstrating the performance of tamenhyaibuga dance from
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Busoga. Kikoyi or Kitambi is seen as the colourfully decorated red striped
garment folded and tied as waist band on which the hairy he-goat skin is
fastened. The use of this garment tied around the waist called for the design
and use of short blouses as well. Design and use of the short blouses also
started in the tertiary education institutions and have been adopted and
accepted as traditional dancing attire in Busoga, Buganda (Ssebuwufu,
2009.), and many parts of Uganda.
Plate 5.6: Muwewesi Xylophone group dancers
180
Attire also tells a lot about the way people use it. According to Muwewesi
Musamiru (Informant, Muwewesi xylophone group, 2007)
Shabby attires are reminiscent of poor and drunken indigenous music
performers who live on handouts from the people they entertain.
Muwewesi Xylophone group attire shows a difference by having
performers dressed in traditional and uniform kanzu (white tunics) for
male and gomesi (long flowing dresses) for female performers.
Muwewesi Musamiru' s idea of the uniform and smart dressing code, which
they achieved from the tertiary education institutions, is seen in the plate
below.
Plate 5.7: Muwewesi Xylophone group in uniform and traditional attire
181
On the issue of what prompted the establishment of these performing groups
a good number of the indigenous music practitioners assert that they were
driven by the need to earn a living so as to eradicate poverty from their midst.
The majority of the respondents stated that they were prompted by the need
to participate in annual music and dance cultural gala organized by either
their cultural institutions/kingdoms or the Nile Beat Artists.
The national annual cultural gala organized by the Nile Beat Artists and
sponsored by Uganda Breweries Limited since 2005, is the biggest event in
East Africa in terms of time, finance and coverage (Isabirye James, 2009).
This turns out as a very important gala with a focus on the need to promote
and preserve indigenous genres of music. All the respondents were of the
same mind that the need to promote indigenous music for the good of their
cultural institutions or kingdoms prompted them to form performing groups.
Buganda and Busoga kingdoms, which are well established cultural
institutions in Uganda, occupy the whole extent of the geographical area of
the study. Thus members of these 'performing groups are bound to pledge
allegiance to their cultural institutions.
Although tertiary education institutions lack appropriate facilities, curricula
and resources to directly deal with the challenge of preservation and
182
promotion of indigenous mUSIC, they have started the process, perhaps
unknowingly. This has been through various activities of its stakeholders as
well as interface with indigenous musicians within their localities.
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CHAPTER SIX
THE PROPOSED MUSIC LEARNING MODEL
6.1 Introduction
The data analysed in this study provides a clear picture of the status of
preservation and promotion of indigenous music by tertiary education
institutions in Uganda. Findings reveal that curricula for formal music
education in the tertiary institutions are generally western music oriented.
This makes these institutions lack appropriate programmes that could enable
them effectively address the challenge for the need to conserve and enhance
Uganda's rich and invaluable indigenous music. Tertiary education
institutions were further found to have inadequate resources, both human and
technical.
As a way of having effective means to deal with the task of enhancement of
indigenous music, the "Living Indigenous Music Education Curriculum"
(LIMEC) has been advanced. The basic principle behind this new curriculum
is to guide tertiary education institutions in designing curricula and
programmes to address the challenge at hand. It focuses on the sixth objective
of the study.
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6.2 The Government guidelines for curricula and programmes of education
in institutions of higher learning
Curriculum review in regard to education generally started in Uganda soon
after attainment of independence in 1962. This review started with the
"Africanisation" of the curriculum that put emphasis on the teaching of
subjects which stressed the Ugandan background and situation so as to create
"African Identity" and "African personality" in the minds of Ugandan
students (Ssekamwa, 1997). Unfortunately indigenous music education was
not part of this curriculum as the focus was on
producing enough qualified people to fill all jobs in the country
with a view that they could help to boost the economy and also
produce people who are confident in themselves as capable and
intelligent (Ssekamwa, 199:. p. 165).
The indigenous music in the curriculum could have been the best vehicle to
"produce people confident in themselves and with an African personality".
But the curriculum designers did not consider indigenous music worth
studying in its own right and its own terms (Hyslop, 1966). Thus the content
of western music remained dominant in the curriculum, with little conceptual
content of indigenous music.
There are vanous policy documents that relate to education in Uganda.
However, the focus of this study is the general national aims of education that
highlight some aspects of indigenous music. These general aims of education,
185
which were advanced in the 1989 Education Policy Review Commission
report (Uganda, 1989), have been adopted and articulated in the 1992
Government White Paper (Uganda, 1992). Out of these general aims of
education the following objectives that relate to this study are singled out:
• To promote understanding and appreciation of the value of
national unity, patriotism and cultural heritage, with due of
international and beneficial interdependence;
• To inculcate moral, ethical and spiritual values in the
individual and to develop self-discipline, integrity, tolerance
and human fellowship; and Article 69, namely,
• To develop cultural, moral and spiritual values of life.
The above stated general national aims of education that focus on culture in
diversity have been addressed in the Uganda Primary School Curriculum
(MoES, 2000) and the Uganda National Culture Policy (MoGLSD, 2006).
Tertiary education institutions ought to draw on this policy when designing
their curricula. MoGLSD (2006: p. 3) defines culture as the sum total of the
ways in which a society preserves, identifies, organizes, sustains and
expresses itself. Practice of indigenous music promotes the communities'
values of living together, expressiveness and appreciation of cultural, moral
and spiritual values of life. This happens because music, like language and
everything else human beings do, is rooted in culture, and because humans
operate within socio-cultural systems of which music is only a part (Walker,
1996).
186
Although government policies and plans take cogmzance of culture
society uses to sustain and express itself, and which ought to be conserved
(MoGLSD, 2006: p. 12) little has been done to promote this intangible
heritage. Indigenous music is one aspect of intangible heritage, which the
and promoted. Consequently the ever changing government policies on
education have affected the promotion of music education at all levels. Thus
the enhancement of indigenous genres of music, which portray the richness
that lies in our varied and diverse cultures and values (Uganda, 1989), has
been overlooked due to policy issues.
Policy matters on education have been heavily influenced by historical issues,
mainly colonialism (Digolo, 2005), and attempts to break away from attitudes
formed in those years have not borne much fruit (Akuno, 2005a). They have
also, in the last three or more decades, been influenced by political issues.
Such policy issues in Uganda have resulted in the government putting little or
no emphasis on music education at all levels of the education system. It led to
music education being phased out of the primary school curriculum. As
regards the secondary school curriculum, music as a subject of study has been
designed to remain as an optional subject. This was exemplified in the
Uganda Government Circular 2012008, which states that
No subject should be offered in "pt level classes by a particular school \\'ithout a
minim.un class size of 40 sttx:lents fer Arts .... This irrplies that all tmviable "P:'
187
level sections recently established privately with few students should be phased out
with immediate effect (Ministry of Education and Sports, 2008).
This circular was, however, silently withdrawn due to public out-cry and
concern as to why music, a vocation for many people was being phased out
ofthe school curriculum (Ntubiro, informal discussion on iz" October 2009).
Silent withdrawal of the circular could not save the subject. Thus music as a
subject of study, which was offered in very few schools before the issuance
of that circular, has been discontinued from the teaching programmes of a
number of secondary schools.
Consequently teachers of music who had the opportunity to combine music
with one other arts subject, while pursuing their diploma in education training
had to shift to wholly teaching the latter subject as a survival technique
(Mugabi, informal discussion on 21 st November 2009). Without formal study
of music in secondary schools, Shitandi (2005: p. 99) contends that a grim
picture of the prospects of music in higher education is painted, hence the
absence of a driving force towards the practice and sustenance of indigenous
mUSIC.
Statistics obtained from the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB,
2009) shows that a mean average of 100 students from the year 2007 to 2009
sat the music examinations at the end of their sixth year of secondary
188
education. This small number of music education candidates could be partly
attributed to many students regarding music as a difficult subject (Wanjala,
2005). Policy matters could also be a contributing factor to the drop in
number of music education students. Thus policy issues that affect the music
education led to lack students duly qualified for admission into tertiary
education institutions' music education programmes. These should be
students who pursued music studies and passed it at their 6th year of
secondary education.
Another policy that could not help in the promotion of music education was
that of admission into the National Teachers' College to be trained as
secondary school music teacher. This policy requires eligible applicants and
prospective students of music education to have passed English or any other
language and another arts subject in the 6th year of secondary school
(Ministry of Education and Sports, 2003). With this requirement, a student
who has not had any prior education in music and its practice cannot benefit
from the theoretical 2-year music education acquired at this stage. This is
because institutions commonly offer theoretical pedagogy, which
increasingly turn out students who are unable to "behave musically" (Akuno,
1997).
189
Policy matters as pointed out above therefore deny learners the opportunity to
pursue music education at all levels of the education system. It also
disregards the view that policy development, a fundamental function of any
government, is expected to address, among other concerns, the provision of
meaningful educational expenences and ensure equal educational
opportunities for every citizen (Elliot, 1989). Elliot's view is supported by the
Education Strategic Investment Plan (Uganda 1998a: p. 10) with some of its
priority policy objectives being, among others
• Ensuring equity of access to all levels of education;
• Forging a stronger partnership between the public and
private sectors.
The task of achieving the above policy objectives of Education Strategic
Investment Plan (ESIP) was left to the National Council for Higher Education
(NCHE), which had been established following policy guidelines of the
Government White Paper (Uganda, 2000). NCHE was tasked to
systematically coordinate and implement policies relating to higher education
through, among others
i) Planning and evaluation of programmes pursued in the
institutions of tertiary education;
ii) Co-ordination of admissions to universities and other
tertiary institutions;
iii) Validation of various academic and professional courses
and associated qualifications;
iv) Ascertaining the credibility of institutions awarding
different kinds of certificates'
v) Ensuring high standards of education in tertiary
institutions of equivalent level (Uganda. 1992: pp. 90 -
91)
190
Indigenous music education is implied in the above policy objectives. It is
therefore incumbent upon tertiary education institutions to design and
implement appropriate indigenous music education curricula and thus deal
with the challenge of enhancement of this genre of music.
The resultant effects of government policies on the .curriculum denied
Ugandan citizens access to opportunities to pursue music education, which
could lead them to acquire knowledge and skills in music making and
eventually in the indigenous genre. Pulling out of policy hurdles highlighted
above requires tertiary education institutions in Uganda to design
programmes to respond to the major challenge of this study. The "Living
Indigenous Music Education Curriculum" has been advanced in this study as
a concept that is geared towards helping institutions to address the task at
hand. As such the drive for this study was to assess programmes, resources
and curricula in the tertiary education institutions.
6.3: Conceptual underpinnings of the "Living Indigenous Music Education
Curriculum
Important aspects of this study have been highlighted in the vanous
theoretical and conceptual frameworks in chapter two. They have also been
pointed out in the policy guidelines outlined above. Findings of this study led
to the formulation of the "Living Indigenous Music Education Curriculum"
191
(LIMEC). LIMEC is a curriculum design that forms the principle of giving
guidance to tertiary education institutions in designing curricula and
programmes appropriate for dealing with the challenge for the need to
preserve and promote indigenous music.
Emphasis of LIMEC is practical learning and application of knowledge and
skills of indigenous music. As such, LIMEC is built on the parameters of
interaction between the informal generic music education and the formal one
as pointed out on the "FIME" model of interaction in the conceptual
framework on page 45 of this study. In this interaction learners are, in the
first instance, led through the content of indigenous music that refreshes their
knowledge about things they are familiar with. They are then given the
opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills in formal music education.
Formal music education, which is a model derived from the western
knowledge system, is used as a paradigm of acquisition of music knowledge,
literacy and skills that are transferrable to learning, practice and conservation
of indigenous music.
For a proper interaction between the indigenous and formal music systems,
learners are made to actively engage with the former as they simultaneously
acquire knowledge of the latter. Although the indigenous and formal music
192
systems have aspects of universal musical principles, the former is unique in
its pedagogical value and approach because of its orality. The LIMEC
philosophy therefore provides the point of departure and paves way for an
interaction where orality facilitates the practice of formal music education.
One of the objectives of LIMEC is to produce indigenous musicians with
cultivated intellect and candid minds that resonate indigenous music practice.
Such musicians have the ability to continuously learn and practice knowledge
and skills of indigenous genres of music. They as well playa significant role
in upholding the continuity of indigenous music and passing on the society's
treasury of values. LIMEC is further meant to produce practical indigenous
musicians and recorders with clear understanding of the association between
the repertoire of indigenous music and the social events that draw from this
genre of music.
A practical mUSICIan produced through LIMEC is expected to develop
interest and concern for active practice and enhancement of indigenous music
cultivated in him/her. That interest is derived from enjoyable musical
activities, with positive attitudes and habits that perpetuate utilization of this
knowledge. LIMEC should also be able to produce people well versed in the
use of knowledge and skills for the conservation of indigenous music through
193
notation and use of various ethnographic equipment for audio and digital
audio-visual recordings. These recordings are for safe keeping in well
planned systems of archiving recorded indigenous music performances for
posterity.
LIMEC is designed to deal with instrumental values that focus on issues,
which enrich the human spirit, enliven imagination, develop intuition and
reason, relate to lived experience (Jorgensen, 1996) and remain living. It
enables indigenous music skill learning and practice as a curriculum
paradigm to focus on the structure of the music itself. This gives it the central
pedagogical tool (Mushira, 2005) where different genres are then clearly
defined, nurtured and practised. Thus curricula with the "living" indigenous
music enable those involved in its learning and practice to have positive
attitude and behavior. In this regard, the practitioners are enabled to do what
they love to do and thereby maximize their creative potentials (Collins and
Amabile, 1999).
6.3.1: Rationale for LIMEC
The Living Indigenous Music Education as a curriculum paradigm focuses on
the practice and enhancement of indigenous genres of music. It requires a
process of active learning and practice of indigenous music making skills,
194
which has been lacking, according to findings of this study. As such the
rationale for LIMEC is the need to design and implement an appropriate
theoretical and practical approach to learning and encouraging active practice
of indigenous genres of music. A paradigm of this kind that enables the
context of indigenous music to be taught in its totality activates the process of
practice, continuity and conservation of this genre of music.
Further, there is a need to strengthen and promote the vibrant practice of
indigenous music, especially among the young folk in Uganda. These young
folk who, by virtue of their study schedule away from home, spend most of
their time in schools and institutions where indigenous genres of music are
rarely taught. As such they are detached from their own music. This makes it
important for them to learn and practice indigenous music that serves various
roles and capacities as part of their own community's existence. LIMEC is
intended to reach out the young folk following the course units embodied
therein, and leads to self-affirmation.
The theory of Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire, 1985) which emphasizes
dialogue and engagement becomes an ideal strategy for reaching out the
young folk. Further, Freire's concern to develop consciousness that is
understood to have power to transform reality through the non-formal mode
of learning could therefore enable the young folk learn and practice
195
indigenous genres of music. It at the same time enables them acquire what
the theory of Aesthetic Functionalism (Akuno, 1997) explains as deriving
meaning (aesthetics) from the role it plays (function) in their lives. Thus, the
transformation of reality leads the young learners to delve into the indigenous
genres of music and acquire the lived experience of this music. The
naturalness and lived experience of the indigenous genres of music is what
perpetuates it, enthuses and give life to the community, and thus remains
"living", hence the design to incorporate it into the curriculum. Achievement
of this is possible if curricula of the tertiary education institutions are
designed with the view that Africa needs to develop things African. .
The expected outcome of this philosophy is to have curricula of tertiary
education institutions designed heavily in content, methodology and practical
aspects of indigenous genres of music. Curricula designed in this context
pave way for what is basically an oral tradition to facilitate the practice of
formal education with an emphasis on developing the indigenous musicality
of the learner. The corollary to this curricula design is to embrace it so as to
produce people with practical knowledge and skills in practice, recording and
archiving of indigenous music. These in turn work toward the conservation
and enhancement of this genre of music.
196
In this design, learners are meant to continuously engage in the practice of
indigenous music that has existed and will always live and be practised.
They are further enabled to acquire knowledge and skills necessary for the
sustainable practice of this genre of music. This should best be done through
dialogue and engagement advanced by Freire (1985) in the theory of
Pedagogy of the Oppressed. In this theory dialogue and engagement takes
place without anyone person acting on another, but rather working with each
other. Such kind of interactive engagement augurs well with orality which is
a common practice of the non-formal education and promotes continuous
practice of indigenous muse. The design ofLIMEC thus underscores the need
to develop music curricula at the tertiary education institutions to adequately
prepare learners to preserve and promote indigenous music.
6.3.2: LIMEC practice
LIMEC emphasizes an applied flexible approach to enable learners with
different formal and indigenous music backgrounds to participate actively in
the learning and practice of the latter. This is because people have different
cognitive skills, which should be utilized and developed according to
individuals' abilities (Gardner, 1993} It is the cognitive strength that makes
people respond and act either quickly or slowly to changing situations in their
daily experiences. Cultivating the cognitive strength empowers the learners
'KEN¥A'fTA UN~VERSITYLIBRARY
197
to advance in their quest for knowledge and skills of indigenous music. It
drives them to overcome the often commonly held perception that they are
unable to assimilate new skills and knowledge, which in turn reduces their
confidence and competence (Caver and Tracey, 2001).
Andang'o (2009: p. 78) expressing views that are in consonance with that of
Gardner above, advocates for the development of cognitive, psychomotor
and the affective or emotional responses of learners. Hargreaves (1994: p.
213) defines
Affective variable as those that represent the subjective and
emotional response to music;
Cognitive variables as those that are involved in perceiving,
comprehending, analyzing, identifying and synthesizing music;
Psychomotor variables as those involved in the organization and
coordination of skilled musical behaviour such as attending to
cues, imitating and repeating, monitoring oneself and following
instructions.
When cognizance is taken of the above variables, learners are led to develop
their cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills through active participation
in the acquisition of formal music knowledge and practice of indigenous
genre of music. These variables are what make people perform capably,
ethically and sensibly in social, multicultural and professional contexts
(Deakin University, 2002).
198
LIMEC advances a practice that is desirous to cause change in the attitude
and behavior of the learners through acquisition and application of
knowledge and skills of indigenous genres of music. The concept of
Aesthetic Functionalism (Akuno, 1997), which points out that meaning
(aesthetics) in music is derived from the role it plays (function) in the life of
those who make it (Akuno, 2005b: p. 160) provides a suitable avenue for
change in attitude and behavior. Indigenous music thus becomes meaningful
and causes change in behavior and attitude when it fulfills a socio-cultural
function in its makers. The learners, in this case the indigenous music
makers, are enabled through LIMEC to have meaningful co-existence and
create cohesion between themselves and their environment.
Further, LIMEC practice has been advanced to enable people with coherent
socio-cultural and environmental functions to focus on the process of music
making, which embodies aesthetic and functional values of indigenous genres
of music. The process of indigenous music making with candid attitudes and
collective involvement of the community takes place due to aesthetic
principles, ideas, values and behavior that are developed in the context of that
society. It thus becomes a vehicle that transports the community into the
practice of participatory indigenous music-making.
199
Change in behavior and attitude adequately prepares learners for the task of
conservation and enhancement of indigenous music. Such change is
achievable through a departure from the theoretical book knowledge
approach commonly applied in institutions. Theoretical book knowledge is
often bogged down by the ideological norms of formal education controlled
by time and with content organized to fit the allocated time for study and
examinations alone (Omolo-Ongati, 2005). It is also weighed down by
having many disciplines or subjects of study in a given set period. Missing
lessons and examinations in this set period refers to abscondment and thus
discontinuation from the progremme (Kyambogo University prospectus,
2005/2006). LIMEC is intended to change the above stated hurdles by having
a more flexible programme and period of study.
Gearing instruction towards examination IS one other theoretical book
knowledge approach that hampers formal education. In this regard Akuno
(2005b: p. 209) contends that theoretical book knowledge leads to-
memorization and does not leave learners time to acquire musical experience.
Theoretical book knowledge and memorization is often driven by the
assessment factor and learners' need to pass examinations. This has been the
preferred and most widespread method of education delivery in institutions in
200
Uganda (National Council for Higher Education: 2006: p. 18), for the
purpose of passing examinations or acquiring paper qualifications.
Conversely, memorization plays a very important role in the development of
one's indigenous musicianship. It is used throughout Africa where musical
memory plays a vital role in the transmission of knowledge and practice
(Flolu, 2005), because of its important aspects of listening, observation and
participation. Besides, the oral method of internalizing music applied in the
indigenous African system of education is an important contributor to the
development of keener hearing and memorization (Andang'o, 2005. p. 53),
which forms the designed practice of LIMEC.
Adoption and practice of keener hearing and memorization enables LIMEC
to depart from measurement of students' academic ability by the quantity of
knowledge acquired through theoretical book knowledge memorization.
Measurement is rather better done by finding out whether or not the learner
has acquired the "zest for living", which is the ability to learn independently
(Takeshi, 2000). LIMEC is geared to employ this practice following its
practical aspect designed to ensure that concepts learnt are applied
immediately to enable the learner to have linkages between the theory and
practice. Delay in the employment of the linkages creates failure in getting a
201
clear understanding of the concepts. Other ideological institutional norms
apart from examinations that encourage memorization include having
necessary text books, appropriate physical structures, recruitment and use of
professional educators, among others.
6.3.4: Curriculum design in LIMEC
LIMEC has been designed to engage learners in more active programmes that
lead to keener observation, hearing, memorization and application of
knowledge and skills learnt. As such it remains free from the burden of
institutional norms. It is a practical and better way toward enhancement of
indigenous genres of music. This design of LIMEC to enhance the practice of
indigenous music education follows the citation of Bishop J.J. Willis quoted
by Hab'lyaleme et al (1998), to the effect that no training which only imparts
book knowledge is complete: eye, ear and hands must be trained!
In this regard a half of the total units of LIMEC are designed to have the
theoretical formal music knowledge component that covers music literacy,
aural skill training and notational system of indigenous music. Other course
units include history and practice of indigenous music, and factors
determining the make and spread of musical instruments and dance forms in
Uganda. The practical course component, which covers the other half of the
202
curriculum, consists of practice of singing styles of indigenous music genres,
skills of manipulation of various musical instruments, and skills of
performance of various dance forms. Other units include making and tuning
of indigenous musical instruments, and ethnographic field methods that
include audio/video recording and archiving.
This design of LIMEC requires the use of human resources knowledgeable
in the content of the curriculum. The professional human resources are
further expected to have skills in indigenous music performance and the use
of various recording equipment. But since findings reveal that such human
resources are rarely available in the institutions, short courses tailored
towards training of personnel for this cause is paramount. Technical
resources needed for use in this design of LIMEC include recording
equipment such as audio cassettes, mini disk or compact disk (CD) recorders
and flash drives or memory sticks with their hard drivers. Others include
digital audiovisual recording devices.
Curricula designed as above puts focus on the production of people well
versed in ways of preserving and promoting indigenous music as well as
archiving. This kind of curriculum design enables the adoption of the
principles of Dalcroze Eurythmics whose main philosophy is to make
203
learners react physically to their perceptions of musical rhythms, thereby
experiencing a complete feeling of rhythm throughout their bodies. It also
develops their control of physical reactions to mental impressions (Akuno,
2005b: p. 59). Dalcroze Eurythmics is one of the frameworks on which
LIMEC is built to effectively handle the practical aspect of indigenous music
learning and skill acquisition. In this way learners who have acquired
"eurythmics'" can easily grasp knowledge and skills of indigenous music
making and archiving.
Assessment and evaluation of learners in this curriculum is addressed through
the end of term or semester presentation of completed work schedules. This
includes assessment of the learners' achievement of skills of performance of
indigenous mUSIC, dance and manipulation of musical instruments.
Assessment in this design focuses on results based on clear measurable
performance standards or levels of acquisition of skills of indigenous music.
Measuring of performance in this way helps to address issues relating to
output and effectiveness to provide the foundations for building further
success. Grading of the progress made is then carried out in subsequent end
Eurythmics, which means 'good music' or 'flow' (Brown, (987) was initiated by Emile
Jacque Dalcroze (1865 - (950) and thus it is often referred to as Dalcroze Eurythmics
(Akuno, 2005b).
204
of term presentations following set targets to achieve performance standards
or levels.
Learners are further assessed on presentation of collected, notated and
recorded works, each of which ought to have dossier on work done during the
fieldwork sessions. Performance measurement of this nature is valuable for
on-going monitoring purposes and to reinforce accountability. Assessment of
the quality and clarity of the recordings is done with regard to their relevance
to the deed of preserving and promoting indigenous music. The programmes
of LIMEC are thus graded into diploma and degree courses according to their
progressive levels of difficulty and of the tasks therein.
6.3.5: Pedagogy
The processes of giving knowledge and skills in LIMEC are important for
learners' acquisition of intuitive experience and enjoyment of indigenous
music. Such intuitive experience, which occurs inductively (Hargreaves,
1994: p. 215), leads learners to the acquisition of informal indigenous and
formal musical skills. These include the skills of music reading and writing,
aural perceptions with keener understanding and memorization of the music
and styles of performance of different aspects of indigenous genres of music
and dance forms. Induction through appropriately designed pedagogical
205
means thus turns learners from neophytes or apprentice into specialist
musicians, with ability to easily grasp further knowledge and skills of
indigenous genres of music. It develops their responsiveness to the need to
preserve and promote indigenous music. In this way they easily concentrate
on recording and practice of indigenous music with the view to learn by
observation; learn by imitation and learn by emulation so as to nurture
personal growth (Akuno, 2004; Petersen, 2000).
Learning by observation and imitation keeps learners in close touch with
makers of indigenous music and thus develop a free relation to their cultural
heritage. LIMEC strategy is to accomplish this through placement of learners
with renowned indigenous music practitioners to enable them emulate the
specialists' skills of performing on musical instruments, singing, dance and
craftsmanship. With this placement learners are enabled to do extensive
fieldwork so as to learn the context of the music for study, and document
indigenous music practices through notation and audio/video recording. They
are further engaged in helping with producing local performers and
performances. It creates an environment of free exploration leading to the
building of sound repertoire, which can be used to make musical/artistic
decisions (Campbell and Scott-Kassner, 1995).
206
Learning by observation, imitation and free exploration is ideal, since African
music is commonly learnt in form of practical knowledge. This directs its
focus towards knowing in action with the belief that true knowing comes
from actual experiencing through interactive music making (Omolo-Ongati,
2005: p. 75). On a related note, Asante (1995: p. 110) contends that
indigenous music need not only be acquired but should be lived by actively
participating in its socio-political and religious institutions so that it ensures
effective means of communication between generations. The active
participation in indigenous music should create the act of "making special"
something that represents an impulse central to human evolutionary
adaptation celebrating the capacity to make art (Dissanayake, 1993), thus
learning to "make special" music through the "Living Indigenous Music
Education Curriculum".
Since findings show that tertiary education institutions are short of the
professional human resources, the few available ones are given refresher
courses to update their pedagogical ability in handling the practical skills of
performance of indigenous music. To bridge the gap, paraprofessionals are
employed on performance contractual basis (Farrant 1982: p. 54). In the
context of this study, paraprofessionals are the indigenous mUSIC
practitioners. Performance contracting offers an alternative to employing
207
permanent teaching staff (Farrant, 1982: p. 54). It could also open ways to
beat the system of the so often held notion of recruitment of teaching staff in
tertiary education institutions with the minimum qualification of a masters'
degree. Conversely, the paraprofessionals possess vital knowledge and skills
of indigenous music that are often learnt and passed on orally to the next
generation. This makes them suitable to handle the teaching of indigenous
genres of music and related technology without difficulty.
Putting the above stated suggestions into practical perspective enables
learners to have opportunities to experience the lived world of practical
indigenous music performance. They are further helped to develop their
cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills through active participation in
indigenous music activities. In order to achieve this it is necessary to build a
curriculum that is balanced, comprehensive and with sequential programme
of music education necessary for the task of preservation and promotion of
indigenous music (Reimer 989: 220). LIMEC therefore becomes a
comprehensive curriculum design to meet need for preservation and
promotion of indigenous music.
208
6.4: Guiding principles for the design of LIMEC
The theories presented in chapter two of this study provided useful
frameworks for the assessment of the objectives, curricula and programmes
of tertiary education institutions. They generated useful principles upon
which LIMEC has been built. Guiding principles behind the design of
LIMEC come from the arrangement of various curricula listed below. One of
these curricula is the Manhattanville Music Curriculum Programme (MMCP)
approach. Akuno (2005b: p. 68) describes MMCP as a Spiral Curriculum
Model of music education, which provides material and motivation that leads
to personal growth and discovery.
The MMCP stated above thus strengthens the philosophy of LIMEC where
continuous interface with indigenous music practitioners provides indigenous
music material and opportunity for learners to watch, listen, discover,
practice and achieve personal growth. Additionally the theory of Pedagogy of
the Oppressed which advocates for dialogue and engagement (Freire, 1985)
paves way for achievement of the concept of MMCP for personal growth and
discovery. It augurs well with LIMECs view of placement of learners among
renowned indigenous music practitioners. This is in keeping with the
apprenticeship model employed in the learning of indigenous and other forms
of knowledge (Akuno, 2005). The indigenous music practitioners have skills
209
and knowledge pertaining to the practice and preservation of indigenous
music. Training takes place in social settings, enabling learners to acquire
skills through observation (Merriam et al, 1990). LIMECs design of
placement of learners fits well into the theory of Emergent Curriculum
(Bobbit, [1918] in Corbett, 2008) which calls for the study and adoption of
skills of the person with highest output for use as a basis for the training of
learners.
Another important principle and approach that has been useful in shaping the
"Living Indigenous Music Education Curriculum" is the Suzuki Method.
Byczko (2003: 69) describes Suzuki as a method which is based on the belief
that ability is learnt when given the right environment, which is in
consonance with the theory of Aesthetic Functionalism (Akuno, 1997).
LIMEC ultimately provides the right environment for indigenous music to be
learnt by observation, emulation and practice through fieldwork sessions.
Placement of learners with indigenous music practitioners to enable this
genre of music be preserved and promoted :provides a paramount
environment for the practice and continuity of indigenous music. The
rationale for the right environment and approach in LIMEC is that indigenous
music has existed and will always live and be practised by the indigenous
people.
210
The design of LIMEC to follow the path of interaction between the
indigenous and formal mUSIC education perpetuates practice and
enhancement of indigenous genres of music. This augurs well with the
practice of observational learning that exceeds mere imitation (Bandura,
1977). Indigenous music practitioners are capable of consistent and high
levels of music production, which concurs with the theory of Scientific
Management (Taylor [1919] in Corbett, 2008) that requires the study and
measurement of micro-movements of efficient workers for use in the context
of observational learning.
Adoption of the design of Scientific Management with its objective and
rational science of work measurement and workplace modification becomes
useful for LIMEC in evaluating the capacity of the music educators in tertiary
education institutions and the training of learners. It is at the same time
helpful in understanding operations of indigenous music practitioners in their
performance and conservation of indigenous music. In this regard Taylor's
theory of Scientific Management became important in the formulation of
LIMEC.
LIMEC is focused on employment. of clearly set stages of association
between informal and formal music education to enable the two to influence
211
each other for the purpose of cohesion and enhancement of indigenous music.
This cohesion through dialogue and engagement (Freire, 1985) becomes
meaningful when focus is geared towards making meaning (aesthetics) in
music to be derived from the role it plays (function) in the life of those who
make it (Akuno, 2005b: p. 160). Achieving this requires cohesion between
the indigenous music practitioners and learners, and between informal and
formal music education. In this regard the Aesthetic Functional principle
(Akuno, 1997) further strengthens the basis upon which LIMEC was built. It
now provides a framework through which curricula are to be designed with a
view to provide learners with aspects of both "aesthetic" and "function" of
indigenous music. As such LIMEC becomes important for its design of
constant practice, promotion and preservation of indigenous genres of music
for posterity.
The conceptual framework provided in chapter two further points out crucial
ideas that were useful in conceptulising "Living Indigenous Music Education
Curriculum". In the first instance, it initiates the concept of enabling tertiary
education institutions to design and implement appropriate curricula for
imparting knowledge and skills of indigenous music so as to produce music
specialists. It also points out the influence on both informal and formal music
education. This takes place after someone has delved deeper into the
212
intricacies of music and dance and acquired cumulative knowledge and skills
of indigenous music (Akuno, 2005c: p. 15). It sets the stage where one can
develop from either a learner into a music specialist or an apprentice into an
indigenous music practitioner. These ideas are essential for the need to
enhance and promote indigenous genres of music, and underpin the concept
of the "Living Indigenous Music Education Curriculum".
The need for practice, conservation and enhancement of indigenous music in
Uganda cannot be overestimated. In a bid to meet the challenge of this study,
deliberate efforts are bound to be undertaken by tertiary education institutions
to re-orient the music education system along the design of LIMEC.
Preservation and promotion of indigenous music must therefore be diligently
carried out and could work where the principle of LIMEC is employed and
summarized as follows: "a cultivated intellect of formal music education
coupled with practice of informal indigenous music develops a candid mind
that resonates the latter (indigenous music), and perpetuates active practice,
preservation and promotion of this genre of music".
Formal music education in LIMEC is used as a paradigm of acquisition of
music knowledge, literacy and skills that are transferrable to learning,
practice and conservation of indigenous music. The candid (truthful and
213
open) mind is then developed through the ability to continuously learn
through practice of knowledge and skills of indigenous genres of music. The
learner finally resonates (echoes or continuously perform) indigenous music
by playing a significant role of upholding its continuity as well as passing it
on to the society's treasury of values.
214
CHAPTER SEVEN
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the summary, conclusions and recommendations for
important findings of this study that need to be applied. It also outlines areas
of further investigation, which the study could not cover. The chapter
represents a multitude of issues that determine the answers to the problem
and questions of this study. The study has been divided and presented in six
different chapters summarized below.
7.2 Summary
The study was motivated by lack of effective attention given specifically to
meet the need to conserve and promote indigenous genres of music despite a
number of researches on Ugandan music having been carried out in the past
(Cooke and Kasule, 1999; Kigozi, 2007). It outlined the problem as Uganda's
invaluable and rich indigenous music being gradually weakened and
endangered by various factors including previous downplay by Missionaries
(Muwonge et al, 1997); music syncretism (Tiberondwa, 1998); and multi-
culturalism (Kwami, 1996). Another problem is that of the paradigm shift due
to people's newly acquired tastes and preferences in an ever-changing socio-
215
cultural environment caused by industrialization, globalization, and
urbanization (Okumu, 2001).
Research questions were formulated on the basis that a perceived problem
existed, which greatly curtailed the preservation and promotion of indigenous
music and consequently disengaged it from the social, cultural or ritual and
economic activities pertinent to the community. The research questions were
geared toward assessment of curricula and programmes of tertiary education
institutions as regards their role in dealing with the challenge of preservation
and promotion of indigenous music.
In order to address the research problem this study was guided by certain
underlying objectives, which sought to assess the main aim of music
education so as to establish:
1. the aspects that impact capacity of mUSlC educators to teach
knowledge and skills of indigenous music;
2. ways in which music curricula in tertiary institutions relate to the task
of enhancement and continuity of indigenous music;
3. the availability of both human and technical resources for the task of
the study;
216
4. level of engagement of the tertiary education institutions in productive
roles in regard to the task of the study;
5. significant benefits indigenous musicians have achieved from these
institutions;
6. a principle that should guide tertiary education institutions in
designing curricula and programmes for the growth, conservation and
continuity of indigenous music.
Primary data for the study was collected through the use of structured
questionnaires administered to music educators in tertiary institutions. Data
was also gathered through interviews with indigenous music practitioners
who are the propagators of indigenous music as well as survey and evaluation
of the curricula of tertiary education institutions and technical facilities in
their settings. Other stake holders with knowledge, skills and interest in
indigenous music (see Appendix IIb) were also informally interviewed to
corroborate information from the respondents.
A battery operated cassette recorder with an in-built microphone was used for
recording and gathering oral information from the interview scenes.
Furthermore, a still camera was used in capturing important on-going
activities in the course of interviews and survey of facilities. Interpretation of
the data obtained finally helped in the discussion of the findings and
217
providing answers to the research questions. The data clearly presented a
multitude of issues that determine the answers to the problem and questions
of the study.
The discussions and following conclusions were informed by theories of
Bobbitt's Curriculum Management and Taylor's Scientific Management
(Corbett, 2008), Emergent Curriculum (Yule, 2004) and Aesthetic
Functionalism (Akuno, 1997). They were further guided by the concept of the
Living Indigenous Music Education Curriculum.
7.3 Conclusion
This study has broadly examined the objectives, resources and new roles
expected of tertiary education institutions, their programmes, curricula and
readiness in relation to the task of promotion and preservation of indigenous
music in Uganda. Answers to crucial questions that guided this study are thus
given in this sub-section. The answers emanate from findings of the study.
7.3.1 Readiness of the tertiary education institutions for the task of
preservation and promotion of indigenous music
The first question the study confronted was the determination of aspects that
impact the capacity of music educators to impart knowledge and skills of
indigenous music practice. Findings reveal that most of the facilities such as
218
technical and human resources are rarely available in tertiary education
institutions. Others including the indigenous musical instruments and
costumes, though available are not enough. Seemingly, lack of time to
practice indigenous music performance makes the availability of these
musical instruments not felt at all. Lack of these essential facilities hence
negatively impacts the capacity of music educators to teach knowledge and
skills of indigenous music.
The study also sought to determine ways in which music curricula in tertiary
institutions in Uganda are related to the task of the preserving and promoting
indigenous music. The findings indicate that mUSIC curricula in tertiary
education institutions are generally western mUSIC oriented with little
theoretical content on general theory and history of African music. As such,
music curricula in tertiary education institutions make one much
knowledgeable in western music theory, history, composition and harmony,
and not in indigenous music. This implies that the curricula in tertiary
education institutions partially relate to the need to preserve and promote
indigenous music. This partial relatedness comes from the areas of little
theoretical content on indigenous music, and little time given to aural skill
training and practical work.
219
One of the tasks of the study was to assess the availability of relevant human
and technical resources in the tertiary education institutions. The results of
the study have revealed that both human and technical resources needed in
tertiary education institutions for the task of promotion and preservation of
indigenous music are inadequate. They are rare in the sense that tertiary
education institutions have few music educators who give little help toward
the task of the study. These music educators are mainly knowledgeable in
theory, history, harmony and practical work in western music, with a little
knowledge on theoretical rather than practical .indigenous music. The
technical resources available are mainly a variety of indigenous musical
instruments, a few text books on African music and very few newer forms of
recording and playback of audio and audio-visual equipment. Hence the
music educators, resource persons and technological facilities needed for the
task of imparting knowledge and skills in indigenous music are rarely
available.
Further, the study sought to establish the level of engagement of tertiary
education institutions in productive roles appropriate for enhancement of
indigenous music in Uganda. Findings of the research have revealed that
although tertiary education institutions are cognizant of new roles expected of
them for the task of promotion and preservation of indigenous music, they
220
lack the initiative to engage in these roles. These tasks include research on
indigenous music, collecting and recording of indigenous music and
development of archives for recorded indigenous music. Other roles include
constantly practising indigenous music and offering tailored courses to
indigenous musicians to enable them acquire appropriate knowledge and
skills needed for enhancement and continuity of indigenous music. As the
tertiary education institutions lack the means to engage in these roles, they
are therefore not practised.
There was also need for the study to establish whether the indigenous music
practitioners have benefited from programmes of the tertiary education
institutions. Results of the findings have revealed that tertiary education
institutions do not have programmes designed to benefit the society as such.
However, through interface with the institutions in a number of ways, either
individually or as groups, indigenous music practitioners have achieved a lot
from the activities of tertiary education institutions. The art and ideas that
these musicians have learnt include the art of having acceptable and pleasing
organized stage craft and use with well planned formations that spell out
authentic and aesthetic indigenous dance performances, as opposed to mass
use of space without any particular formation.
221
Indigenous music practitioners have also learnt the use of well designed and
smart indigenous costumes during performances, and controlled singing of
indigenous music with different dynamic levels. As a result of these
achievements, they are very much ready to reap a lot more knowledge and
skills of well organized performance from the activities of tertiary education
institutions. This is because they desire to live as people who are culturally
active and groomed or cultivated in authentic indigenous music practice.
After a careful evaluation of curricula of the tertiary education institutions
included in the study, it was found that they tended to lack the necessary
content needed to enable them play active roles in the task of preservation
and promotion of indigenous music. What is on the ground enables them to
play minimal and not major roles in the task at hand. They principally play
the advisory as opposed to practical Toles needed for the task especially in
this era of revival and establishment of cultural institutions in Uganda.
7.3.2 Proposed music learning model of the Living Indigenous Music
Education Curriculum
This study was focused on establishing the readiness of tertiary education
institutions for the need to preserve and promote indigenous music in
Uganda. Programmes, curricula and resources were viewed as very essential
222
ill addressing the challenge of conservation of indigenous mUSIC.
Enhancement of these genres of music was found to be necessary because of
its practice being gradually weakened and endangered by various social,
multi-cultural, economic, political, global and religious factors. Findings of
the study reveal that tertiary education institutions have not yet achieved the
capacity and readiness to deal with the challenge of the study.
Lack of capacity and readiness of the institutions to preserve and promote
indigenous genres of music has been brought about by their lack of
appropriate human and technical resources as well as use of curricula and
programmes that are partially related to this cause. These findings paved way
for the formulation of the concept of the "Living Indigenous Music Education
Curricula". The basic principle behind this new concept is to help the tertiary
education institutions redesign their curricula so as to address the need for
preservation and promotion of indigenous music.
7.4 Recommendations
7.4.1 Implications for further research
The study recommends for:
• research to be carried out ill tertiary education institutions and
communities in areas outside the established cultural institutions in
223
Uganda. This could help show the extent to which recommendations
in this research could be used in other regions of the country for the
need to preserve and promote indigenous music.
• studies to be carried out to assess the level of the effects of insecurity
on the practice, growth and continuity of the indigenous genres of
music of the people of Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan who
have suffered the brunt of a long spell of insecurity.
• investigations to benefit the need for conservation, growth and
continuity of indigenous music of the multifarious ethnic groups in
East Africa.
• research to establish the effects of forces of change on the indigenous
genres of music of the ethnic groups of people in the Democratic
Republic of Congo.
7.4.2 Implications for the design of the curricula of tertiary education
institutions
The recommendations in this area are for:
• tertiary education institutions to revise their curricula in order to
systematize content learnt through fieldwork expenences and
recording of indigenous mUSICin the learners' local settings. This
224
should guide students to acquire knowledge and skills of indigenous
music from original sources.
• the necessity of tertiary education institutions to make follow-up of
their graduates in the field for the purpose of collecting up-to-date
systematic data on the involvement of their graduates in practical
indigenous music activities. Such data can help music curricula
designers in the institutions to review and improve the appropriateness
of content for the encouragement of practice, growth and conservation
of indigenous music.
7.4.3 Implications for Policy Makers
The study recommends that:
• the Ministry of Education and Sports could integrate indigenous music
and its other concerns into educational policies, plans, programmes and
curricula of all educational institutions. This integration, if organised in
form of inter-institutional indigenous music festivals, would strengthen
the practice, continuity and conservation of indigenous music when
made part and parcel of educational policies and programmes.
• for the Ministry of Information and the Media Centre in Uganda to
institute a policy that regulates media houses in their continuous over-
225
abundance of popular foreign and non-indigenous mUSIC, whose
content and mode of presentation is never controlled. The national
media, the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation radio and television can
be the epitome of broadcasting and telecasting inter-ethnic indigenous
music performances. This can pave way for creating avenue for
promotion and preservation of the rich invaluable indigenous music.
• the Ministry of Public Service in liaison with tertiary education
institutions could revise terms, conditions and requirements for
appointment into the service of the institutions. This ought to include
people with expertise and practical skills but lack the ever desired
academic qualifications.
• the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in
conjunction with that of Education and Sports and the National Culture
Forum could organize regular inter-cultural gala as a means to promote
meaningful cultural exchange and consolidation of the need to promote
and preserve indigenous music and dance. This would bring together all
cultures alongside the current few recognized cultural institutions in
Uganda, which include cultures of the following:
Emorimor of the Iteso; Kabaka of Buganda; Kyabazinga of Busoga;
Obusinga of the Bakonzo; Omukama of Bunyoro; Omukama of Toro;
226
52 Rwodi (Cheifdoms) of the Acholi; Rwot Olarker Ubimo II of the
Alur; Tyeng Adhola of the Jop 'Adhola.
• the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and that of
Information plus the Media Centre should encourage the opening up
and licensing of broadcasting and telecasting stations of the cultural
institutions. These broadcasting and telecasting stations could always
promote the playing and telecasting of indigenous music in their
stations following the example of the Central Broadcasting Station
(CBS) of the Buganda Kingdom with programmes such as "ekyoto ",
"ekisakaate", and "wakulennume,,9.
• the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, and that of
Energy and the Media Centre should liaise with the tertiary education
institutions in designing modalities for the establishment of cultural
archives for indigenous genres of music in each cultural institution in
Uganda. This is important for the conservation of the invaluable music
9 ekyoto comes every Saturday evening from 7.00 to 8.30 p.m, and has an
abundance of traditional music and proverbs;
ekisakaate is for training young folk the cultural norms including indigenous
music of Buganda during the April/May school term holidays every year;
wakulennume for encouraging growth of knowledge and skills in all aspects of
Buganda traditions
227
of these institutions. Some of this music such as the chime drums of
Buganda, abalere ba Kabaka music, abagwala music of Busoga and
most of the Busoga and Buganda Kingdom court music that was
practised in the past 30 to 50 decades, is found in the archives of
European and North American countries (Cooke and Kasule, 1999),
and are not heard of anywhere in Uganda today.
228
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Appendix I
Map of Uganda showing the geographical area of study and neighbouring countries
\I
I32"
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
OF THE
CONGO
250
Appendix II
a) List of indigenous music practitioners that were interviewed
S. Name Group District Date oj
No Interview
L Bongole James Bamunanika Golden Luwero 4th Nav.2007
Performers
2. Dhafa Badiru Balyegamba Nakisenye Iganga. 6th Nav.2007
3. Kabale Charles Remeo Cultural Group Kamuli 6th Nav.2007
4. Kaggwa Patrick Drum Beat Rakai 9"' Nav.2007
5. Kasolo Jowelia Lwanika Bakuseka Maja Bugiri. 7"' Nav.2007
6. Kaweesa Israel Kiwoko Bright Star Luwero 4th Nav.2007
7. Kisambira Peter Mabira Cultural Group Mukono. 1st Nav. 2007~,~ ~-
8. Mugenyi Deborah Kibani Agaliawamu Mubende 3rd Nov. 2007
9. Musimbago Rose Rhythm Troupe Rakai. 9th Nav.2007
10. Muwewesi Muwewesi Xylophone Iganga. - 6th Nav.2007
Muzamiru
II. Muzigu Salim Budondo Cultural Group Jinja 6tll Nav.2007
12. Nakalawa Rose Kangulumira Cultural G. Kayunga. 1st Nov. 2007
Mary
13. Nanduja Annet The Plannet Kampala gth Nav. 2007
14. Nansera Rose Basima Nankasa Group Kampala. gITl Nav. 2007
15. Ngobi Kopolo Nakibembe Xylophone Jinja. 7th Nav.2007
Rashid
16. Nassali Justine Kyamulibwa Actors Masaka .. 9th Nav.2007
251
17. Rwanjezi Stephen Ndere Troupe Kampala. 8th Nov. 2007
18. Ssenkubuge Mathias Masters of Drum Rakai 9th Nov.2007
19. Ssengendo Johnson Busimbi Youth Group Mityana. 3rd Nov. 2007
20. Sserwanga Zavuga Kuteesa Cultural Group Mukono. 1st Nov. 2007
21. Ssewakiryanga Rose Namukozi Cultural Group Luwero. 4th Nov.2007
22. Waisswa Shadrack Kasokwe Nkalu Kaliro. 7th Nov.2007
23. Walusimbi Haruna Nile Beat Artists Jinja. 6th Nov.2007
24. Nattabi Mary Mirembe Women Group Kayunga 1st Nov. 2007
25. Kawuzi Thomas Katufube Cultural Group Kaliro iENov.2007
26. Ssewankambo Dynamic Youth Group Mityana 3rd Nov. 2007
Richard
b) Other people from whom opimon was sought on cross-cutting
issues as regards indigenous music and education
~. Name Designation District/ Date of intervieWoo Place of
Work
1. Kyakwise Stephen. District Education Mayuge 21 st Aug. 2009
Officer
2. Omunyokol John Lecturer Kaliro NTC 10th Sept. 2009
Peter
3. Waikere Henry Tutor Kaliro PTC s" Sept. 2009
4. Ssebuwufu Simeo Indigenous music Kampala! 13th Sept. 2009
Craftsman and Kyambogo
former musician in University
the court of the
Kabaka of Buganda
252
5 Musisi-Mukalazi Former musician in Mpigi 11th Aug. 2009
the court of Kabaka
Muteesa II of Buganda
6. Ssennoga Majwala Lecturer Kampala! 10th Sept. 2009
Hanninton Kyambogo
University
7. Ngobi Moses Secondary Jinja! 21 st Aug. 2009
school teacher M.M ColI.
Wairaka
8. Mugabi Peter Secondary school Kampala! 21st Nov. 2009
Teacher Kyambogo
College
School
9. Ntubiro Godfrey Music specialist at NCDC lih Oct. 2009
the National Kyambogo
Curriculum
Development Centre
(c) List of the independent Judges of the questionnaire, interview schedule
and opinionnaire
S. Name Designation Place of work
No
1. Katasi Solome Lecturer Kyambogo University
2. Sempereza Daniel Lecturer Uganda Christian
University
3. Isabirye James Lecturer Kyambogo University
253
Appendix III
Questionnaire for Lecturers and Tutors of Music
Dear Respondent,
I am undertaking an assessment of tertiary institutions' music education
programmes to establish their readiness to address the challenge of
preservation and promotion of indigenous music in Uganda. This
questionnaire IS aimed at getting information from you as music
Lecturer/Tutor. Please answer the following questions to enable me make a
fair judgment. All information obtained from you will be treated
confidentially and used for this study only. Your honesty will be highly
appreciated.
A: General information
Write or tick whichever response is applicable
1. Gender
2. Designation
: Male () Female ( )
: Lecturer ( ) Tutor ( )
3. Number of years oflectureship/tutorship .
4. Your highest academic qualification:
Dip. Educ. ( ); B. Ed ( ); B. A. Educ. ( ); M. Ed ( );
Any other ( ) Specify .
254
A: Aspects that impact the capacity to teach knowledge and skills of
indigenous music
Please put a tick C-V) against appropriate response of each of the statements
below where you either Strongly Agree = SA, or Agree = A, or Disagree =
DA, or Strongly Disagree = SD.
s Positive or negative impact to the capacity to RESPONSES
NO teach knowledge and skills of Indigenous music. ~A A DA SD
1 Teaching content of the indigenous music needs
use of indigenous musical instruments, costumes
and other resources, which are lacking in my
institution.
2. Teaching content of the indigenous music needs
use of resource
persons as demonstrators, but
they are not readily available.
3. Though the syllabus has some content for
indigenous music, my
specialization is western music.
4. There are no text books on indigenous music one
can use to
prepare content to be taught.
5. Teaching content needs one to have knowledge
and practical skills of the indigenous music so as
to pass it on to the learners.
6. The content on indigenous music is more practical
255
with very little theoretical elements and needs a lot
of time and a reasonable number of personnel to
handle.
7. Lack of qualified personnel who can use mUSIC
technology i.e. computer, audio-visual aids and
tools in teaching indigenous music.
8. Lack of newer forms of recording and preserving
music and dance data i.e diskettes, flash discs,
DVDs and CDs for use at any time in the teaching
of in indigenous music.
B: Relevance of the curriculum in regard to indigenous music
Please rate each statement below by putting a tick (-V) against appropriate
response(s) where you either Strongly Agree = SA, or Agree = A, or
Disagree = DA, or Strongly Disagree = SD.
Relevance of the music curriculum in regard RESPONSES
s. toPromotion and preservation SA A DA SD
N of indigenous music
1. The syllabus content constitute more of theory of
western music
and less of indigenous music.
2. Aspects of indigenous music in
the syllabus deal mainly with general theory and
history of African music.
3. Teaching content of the indigenous music needs
256
use of the unavailable recorded audio
and audio -visual traditional performances as
teaching/learning aids.
4. The syllabus content makes one much
knowledgeable in western music composition
and harmony and not in indigenous music.
5. Aural skill training, which IS good for
indigenous music notation and preservation IS
given least attention in the curriculum.
6. Practical work in indigenous music is given least
attention in the curriculum.
7. Western music practical work is
given more attention in the curriculum.
8. The curriculum does not have content on ways
of indigenous music preservation.
C: Availability of human and technical resources for the task of
preservation and promotion of indigenous music
Please rate each statement below by putting a tick (,J) against appropriate
response(s) whether the resources are either Most Available = MA, or
Available = A, or Not Available = NA, or Most Unavailable = MU
RESPONSES
SN a) Availability of Human Resources MA A NA MU
1. Resource persons to help in indigenous mUSICand
257
dance performance.
2. Lecturers to teach western music theory, harmony
and history.
3. Lecturers who can effectively teach indigenous music
and dance practical work.
4. Lecturers to handle indigenous music collection and
transcription.
5. Resource persons to help in western music
practical performance.
6. Lecturers to carry out research, recording and
transcri pti 0n of indigenous mUSIC usmg modem
music technology.
b) Availability of Technical Resources
l. A variety of western musical instruments.
2. A variety of indigenous musical instruments
3. Music resource and practice room.
4. Newer forms of equipment for recording, viewing and
listening to recorded indigenous music and dance.
5. Various tools for the making and repair of traditional
musical instruments
6. Various text books on indigenous music.
7. A computer with software for indigenous mUSIC
transcription and publication and storage.
258
D: New roles that tertiary education institutions are expected to engage in
regard to preservation and promotion of indigenous music
i) Please put a tick (-J) against appropriate response(s) to show whether you
Strongly Agree = SA, or Agree = A, or Disagree = DA, or Strongly Disagree
= SD as to the extent to which the current roles of indigenous mUSIC
preservation and promotion are being practiced in your Institution.
~N Roles my institution should undertake in the RESPONSES
promotion and preservation of indigenous music SA A ~A ~D
1. Collecting and recording of indigenous music and
dance
2. Research on ways of preservation of indigenous music.
3. Helping the local indigenous musicians in
developing, promoting and preserving their music and
dance.
4. Promotion of indigenous music and dance by actively
performing it in the institution and the society
5. Development of an archive for indigenous
music and dance recorded performances.
6. Offer tailored courses to local musicians to
help them learn modem ways of preservation and
promotion of Indigenous music.
259
ii) Please state by putting a tick (~) against appropriate response(s) to show
whether the current roles of indigenous music preservation and
promotion are either Being Practiced =BP, or Not Practiced = NP in
your Institution.
SN Engagement of my institution in productive roles in
regard to promotion and preservation of indigenous RESPONSES
music BP NP
1. Collecting and recording of indigenous music and dance
2. Research on ways of preservation of indigenous music.
3. Helping the local indigenous musicians in developing,
promoting and preserving their music and dance.
4. Promotion of indigenous music and dance by actively
performing it in the institution and the society.
5. Development of an archive for indigenous music and
dance recorded performances.
6. Offer tailored courses to local musicians to help them
learn modern ways of preservation and promotion of
Indigenous music.
260
Appendix IV
Interview Schedule for Informants
1. How long have you been performing indigenous music?
2. What problems have you faced in your indigenous music performance?
3. Have you ever heard of or attended any tertiary education institutions'
programmes using indigenous music and dance performance that have
been extended to your community?
4. Have you ever attended any tertiary education institutions' music and
dance performances within the institution?
5. Have you ever been invited to give guidance to students III their
rehearsals?
6. Do you receive any kind of guidance from either the Tertiary Education
Institution Lecturers/tutors or students or graduates from these
institutions?
7. State what you have achieved from either the programmes or guidance
of the people in and out of the tertiary education institutions.
8. In a typical authentic dance performance situation there is no audience
and restrictive boundaries to stop one from joining in the music
making, which is different from the modern stage setting used by
tertiary institutions. How do handle that kind of situation?
261
9.a) Does your group perform music (song and dance) of ethnic groups
outside your own?
b) Explain why you do or do not do so.
10. From where did you learn the skills of indigenous music performance?
11. A part from knowledge and skills of performance of songs and dances,
do you have any other knowledge on authenticity of indigenous music
performance costumes and accompaniment?
12. Mention other things you would wish to learn from the tertiary
education institutions.
13. Can you explain what prompted you to either start or join this
performing group? Was it need to earn a living or something else?
262
Appendix V
Opinionnare for interview of respondents
1. What has been your role in regard to indigenous music practice?
Have you been an advisor, a trainer, observer or any other?
2. For how long have you been engaged in your role?
3. What is your opinion could be the effect of the Government of
Uganda Circular 20/2008 on music education?
4. Do you see the performance of indigenous dances as authentic as it
ought to be?
5. If not authentic, what could have been the cause of divergences?
6. Are the dance costumes in use today still as authentic as our fore
parents designed them?
7. If not how could have the change come about?
8. If there are new designs of costumes, have they been acceptable
and adopted for use in your indigenous music performances?
263
Appendix VI
Observation schedule for music syllabi and resources
1. Content coverage
S Content Least Little Average Much Most
.NO
1. African music theory
and history
2. Western music theory
and history
3. Western practical
Music
4. African practical
Music
5. Music composition
and harmony
6. Ethnic music notation
knowledge and skills
Aural s
2. Relevance to indigenous music preservation and promotion in relation to
content 1, 4 - 5 above being average or much or most.
264
Very relevant ( ); Relevant ( ); Not relevant ( ); Very Irrelevant ( )
3. Availability of resources;
S. Resources Not rew Average Many Much
NO available
1. African music
Textbooks
2. Learning!
Teaching aids
3. Indigenous
Musical
Instruments
4. Costumes
5. Western Music
Textbooks
6. Music recording
Equipment
7. Music and dance
playback and
audio-visual
equipment
265
Appendix VII
Letters to and from the Ministry of Education and Sports
KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY
P.O.BOX 1 KYAMBOGO
Tel: 0414 - 286237/8/285001 Fax: 0414 - 220464
Email: arkyu@kyambogo.ac.ug, www.kyambogo.ac.ug
FACUL TV OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Department of Performing Arts (Music, Dance and Drama)
6th April, 2009
The Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Education and Sports
Dear Sir,
REQUEST FOR PERMISSION TO ACCESS THE GOVERNMENT
POLICY DOCUMENTS ON EDUCATION
I am currently a student pursuing Doctoral Studies in music education
at Kenyatta University in Kenya. My research is focused on
establishing readiness of the tertiary education institutions for the task
of dealing with the challenge of preservation and promotion of
indigenous music in Uganda.
266
The purpose of this letter is to request for permission to access the
Government Policy Documents on Education, which should provide
me with vital information for my research.
Yours faithtullv,
\rGC0~
Peter Ekadu-Ereu
267
Telegram: "EDUCATION
Telephone: +256414234451/4
Fax: +256414234920
Ministry of Education and Sports
Embassy House
P. O. Box 7063
Kampala, Uganda. nm REPUBLIC OF UGANDA
If any correspondence on
This subject please quote No. AOM/48/315/09
22nd April, 2009
Dear Mr. Peter Ekadu-Ereu
Kyambogo University
RE: PERMISSION TO ACCESS THE GOVERNMENT POLICY DOCUMENTS ON
EDUCATION
.Reference is made to your letter dated 6th April, 2009 on the above subject in which you
sought permission to access the Government Policy Documents on Education.
Iam glad to inform you that permission has been granted for your accessing the Government
Policy Documents on Education. By copy of this letter, the Officer in Charge of the Archives
of the Ministry of Education and Sports should give you access to these documents.
Thank you.
v
Dr. Y.K. Nsubuga
For: PERMANENT SECRETARY
c.c. The Desk Officer MoES, Archives