Community-Based Experiential Learning as a Missing Pillar of Competence-Based Higher Education in Uganda: Lessons from Northern Uganda

Abstract Uganda's National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) requires all programmes admitting first-year students from 2027/2028 to be fully competence-based. Yet, institutional practice has concentrated on curriculum restructuring and short workplace placements, leaving community-based experiential learning (CBEL) underdeveloped. This paper distinguishes CBEL conceptually from corporate work-integrated learning (WIL), arguing that the two differ in power dynamics, supervision, economic incentives and reciprocity. Using a narrative synthesis and narrative policy analysis (Popay et al., 2006) of literature and policy documents (2020–2026), including NCHE's 2026 standards, Uganda's Third National Development Plan and UNESCO's CFIT III reports, the paper develops a conceptual framework linking community engagement, experiential learning, competency acquisition, graduate employability and national transformation. Drawing on illustrative cases at Gulu University, Makerere University and the University of Kisubi, it identifies institutional, community and policy factors shaping CBEL, provides a costed analysis of scale-up requirements, and proposes financing mechanisms, including a 5–10% practical-fee reallocation, differentiated for public universities' centralised fee regulation and private universities' tuition-dependent autonomy. It further specifies authentic assessment tools, including e-portfolios, structured reflective journals, 360-degree community-partner rubrics and field presentation vlogs, needed to evaluate CBEL's practical, social and ethical competencies under NCHE's formative assessment standards. Policy implications are developed for NCHE, universities, government, development partners, employers and communities, aligned with Vision 2040, Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals. The paper concludes that without CBEL, distinct from workplace WIL, Uganda risks an operationalization of CBET that remains classroom-bound, and proposes a Northern Uganda-centered research agenda.