As a person who has been in the education system, as a teacher for many years, the biggest challenge that we have is our university education is so theoretical. You find that training and education at a lower level might give more practical skills to people than at a higher level.

Our focus should be to give practical education in a way that gives practical skills to the people who we are educating.

We should do so hands-on. Certainly, issues of income generation should be considered very seriously in our education system, for example.

In whatever you want them to be, teachers or doctors or engineers, it is just not enough to give them theoretical knowledge.

We should emphasize practically oriented knowledge – letting them get out there to have experiential learning. We give them attachments and so on. Practical training is very important.

The issue of innovation in our training is coming up more and more now. I think this is the direction we should go. Because in that way, people begin to question things, and begin to turn around situations. Make it more practical, more useable. Not think that innovation should be left for people who come from elsewhere.

Doing things differently, and just being able to think creatively, that is innovation.

The focus should be on practical training and making sure that the people we are educating should not just remain theoretical but get down and do things.

If you are doing agriculture, go out there, spend more time on the field and learn, other than in the classroom.

Professor Dr. Christopher Garimoi Orach is the Board Chair of CPAR Uganda. He expressed his views, herein contained, during an interview with Mr. Philip Luswata, a Media Consultant, at the CPAR Uganda Lira Centre. Prof. Orach is a professor of public health at Makerere University School of Public Health, where he has  been working for many years – including being Head of Department of the Department of Community Outreach and Behavioural Sciences; actively involved in several research activities; and he teaches.