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Illustration: dawn over a settlement of small homes and farm plots in western Uganda, with a lake on the horizon. Learners walk along a dirt road towards a school with blue roofs, a water tank and flagpoles.
The JEP story

What if education began with the things learners notice, question, and want to understand?

Follow Baraka, an S1 learner in western Uganda, as a problem he lives with becomes a reason to learn. A story in nine scenes, told through illustrations and photographs of the real setting.

Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.

Begin the storyChoose a scene

Scene 1 of 9

The world as it is

Learning begins with reality, not with a computer or an AI tool.

  1. Reality
  2. Question
  3. Knowledge
  4. Tools
  5. Action
  6. Feedback
  7. Improvement

The colours follow the four parts of the JEP learning cycle: DISCERN, PROMPT, PROTOTYPE and FEEDBACK. Stages and cycle: the difference

A long classroom block with a blue roof and blue doors, with a wheelbarrow in the shade in front of it.
Real setting A classroom block at Spectrum Secondary School, in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, Kikuube District. Photo: SXLA

Kyangwali, western Uganda. Every morning, learners walk to school past homes and small farm plots.

At Spectrum Secondary School, refugee and host-community learners study side by side, from S1 to S4, following the national curriculum. They bring their everyday lives with them: what their families grow and eat, where their water comes from, what things cost.

A close-up in the school garden at midday: Baraka kneels by a bed of bean plants whose leaves have turned yellow and droop over hard, cracked soil. An empty watering can lies on its side. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.
Illustration Close-up. In the school garden, the bean leaves have turned yellow and droop over hard, cracked soil. At home, his family's small plot looks the same.

Baraka has walked past these beds many times. Today, he stops and looks.

Parents and learnersWhat is JEP?

The Junior Entrepreneurs Program (JEP) is a way of learning developed by Spectrum XLabs Alliance (SXLA). Learners start from real situations in their own lives, ask questions, learn the knowledge they need, act on it and improve, inside the national curriculum and with their teachers. Spectrum Secondary School is the first school implementing it.

Scene 2 of 9

The moment of curiosity

A discomfort is not only a complaint. It shows a gap between how things are and how they could be.

  1. Reality
  2. Question
  3. Knowledge
  4. Tools
  5. Action
  6. Feedback
  7. Improvement

Baraka“Every dry spell it is the same. The leaves go yellow and we harvest almost nothing. Why?”

Then the questions start to come:

  1. Why is this happening?
  2. Who is affected?
  3. What do I need to understand?
  4. Could things be better?
Two halves of one garden bed. On the left, how it is: cracked soil and drooping yellow plants. On the right, how it could be: covered soil and healthy green plants. A double arrow between them is labelled: the gap.
Illustration The gap between how it is and how it could be is where learning begins.

Most learners keep this kind of discomfort to themselves. It feels like a private problem, far from the classroom. In JEP, it is where learning begins.

General visitorsWhy begin with discomfort?

Because it gives learners a reason to want to know. A problem a learner lives with makes the knowledge in the curriculum matter. JEP does not ask learners to dwell on hardship: it helps them see a gap they can study and, step by step, do something about.

Scene 3 of 9

The teacher changes the direction

The teacher does not hand over an answer or assign a project. She helps Baraka find out.

  1. Reality
  2. Question
  3. Knowledge
  4. Tools
  5. Action
  6. Feedback
  7. Improvement
Baraka's teacher kneels beside him at the dry garden bed. She points at the cracked soil and asks him a question, while he thinks, with his notebook open between them. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.
Illustration Baraka and his teacher at the garden bed.

Baraka“Our garden is dying. What should we do?”

Teacher“Let us look first. What have you noticed? When does it look worst?”

Baraka“By midday the leaves droop. The soil is hard and cracked.”

Teacher“Good observation. What would you need to know to explain it?”

TogetherThey turn a complaint into a question someone can investigate: Why does our garden dry out so fast, and what could keep more water in the soil?

Teacher“That needs biology and agriculture: how plants take in water, and how soil holds it. We will learn it this week.”

The teacher teaches the knowledge the question needs, at the moment Baraka needs it.

Teachers remain central to JEP

In every scene of this story, a teacher is there. As learners grow from S1 to S4, they take more of the lead, and the teacher's role shifts from leading to coaching. It never disappears.

TeachersDo I remain responsible for teaching? What changes in my classroom?

Yes, you still teach the curriculum. What changes is the starting point and the timing: lessons begin from a real situation learners have noticed, and you teach the knowledge it needs when they need it. You question, guide and give feedback, and you plan the work with the four parts of the JEP cycle: DISCERN, PROMPT, PROTOTYPE and FEEDBACK. How JEP works in practice

  • Teaches

    the curriculum knowledge a problem needs, when learners need it

  • Questions

    so that learners think, rather than receive answers

  • Guides

    the work through each part of the project

  • Challenges assumptions

    “Is that true? How do you know?”

  • Monitors learning

    where each learner's thinking is, and who needs help

  • Gives feedback

    on reasoning and evidence, not only on the final product

Scene 4 of 9

Zoom in, zoom out

Baraka learns to look closely, then to look wider, then to come back to what he can do.

  1. Reality
  2. Question
  3. Knowledge
  4. Tools
  5. Action
  6. Feedback
  7. Improvement

How Baraka's thinking changes

As he works, Baraka learns to notice, question, investigate, connect, act, and learn and improve. This is not a separate method. It is the same seven-stage journey, seen from inside his head. His teacher calls the most important habit zooming in and zooming out. As he zooms out, he also asks who could gain from his work: value at three levels, for himself, for his school and community, and for the world.

  1. NoticeReality
  2. QuestionQuestion
  3. InvestigateKnowledge
  4. ConnectKnowledge
  5. ActTools and Action
  6. Learn and improveFeedback and Improvement
Zoom in: a close-up cut through the garden bed. A wilting plant stands in a hard, cracked top layer of soil, with heat rising from the surface and a ruler showing the soil is dry five centimetres down. Labels: what, leaves droop by midday; where, the sunniest bed; evidence, dry 5 cm down; who, our class and families; not yet known, where does the water go?
Illustration Zoom in
Zoom out: the garden bed becomes one point on a globe, in Uganda, in East Africa. Lines link it to wider systems: science, how soil holds water; water, carried from a water point; climate, dry spells and heat; economy, food costs more when harvests fail; and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2, Zero Hunger.
Illustration Zoom out
Zoom out, value at three levels. Value at this level, the individual: the centre ring is highlighted. It shows Baraka beside a garden bed covered with dry grass, his arms raised. The two outer rings, school and community, and the whole world, are faded. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.
Illustration Value at this level: Baraka
Zoom out, value at three levels. Value at this level, the organisation: the middle ring is highlighted. Around Baraka it shows the school, the school kitchen, nearby family homes, a teacher and two other learners. The outer ring, the whole world, is faded. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.
Illustration Value at this level: the school and community
Zoom out, value at three levels. Value at this level, the whole world: the outer ring is highlighted, drawn as a globe with two badges, SDG 2.4 and SDG 4.4. The school and community ring and Baraka at the centre stay visible inside it. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.
Illustration Value at this level: the whole world
Zoom back in: two garden beds side by side. The left bed is covered with dry grass and its plants stand upright; the right bed is bare soil, as before. A jerrycan stands between them. Labels: test, dry grass covers the soil; compare, bare soil as before; when, water early in the morning; within reach, two beds, three weeks, one change.
Illustration Zoom back in

Zoom in

He moves close to the problem. What is happening, where, and to whom? What evidence is there? He pushes a finger into the soil: dry, five centimetres down. Then he writes down what he does not yet know: where does the water go?

Zoom out

Then he steps back. His garden is connected to wider systems: the science of how soil holds water, a water point where every litre is carried by hand, dry spells and heat, and the price of food when harvests fail. It is part of a global goal too: the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2, Zero Hunger, includes making farming more resilient to drought. SDG 2 on the UN website

Zoom out, level 1 of 3: the individual

Value at this level: Baraka

What could Baraka gain? Knowledge he can use: why bare soil dries fast and how covering it keeps water in. Skills: observing, measuring and recording a fair test. Confidence and agency: he chooses an action himself and sees what happens. And if the method works at home too, a possible gain for his family’s small plot and the food it grows.

Zoom out, level 2 of 3: the organisation

Value at this level: the school and community

What could the school and community gain? A school garden that dries out less, and more produce for the school kitchen if the beds do better. A real question teachers can use to teach soil and water. A shared method, the record sheet and the fair test, that other learners can reuse. And nearby households who may try the idea on their own plots.

Zoom out, level 3 of 3: the whole world

Value at this level: the whole world

How does a small garden connect to the world? Local actions like his contribute to two global goals: SDG 2, Zero Hunger, target 2.4, farming practices that help crops cope with drought; and SDG 4, Quality Education, target 4.4, young people with relevant skills for work and entrepreneurship. His two beds contribute to these goals. They do not solve global problems.

Zoom back in

Then he comes back to the garden with a better question and an action within his reach: cover the soil of two beds with dry grass, water early in the morning, and compare them with a bed left bare, for three weeks.

Within his reach: two beds, three weeks, one change, and one bare bed to compare. The value at every level starts here.

Learners are not expected to solve world hunger. They learn to see how their problem connects to bigger ones, and to choose an action they can actually carry out and test.

Scene 5 of 9

Choosing what can help

Before Baraka reaches for any tool, he works out what he is missing.

  1. Reality
  2. Question
  3. Knowledge
  4. Tools
  5. Action
  6. Feedback
  7. Improvement

“Choose the tool that fits the problem. You do not need AI for everything.”

Six questions guide every choice of tool. Follow Baraka through them.

  1. 1What am I trying to understand?
  2. 2What do I already know?
  3. 3What knowledge or capability am I missing?
  4. 4What resource can help me fill that gap?
  5. 5How will I check whether the result is reliable?
  6. 6What should I do next?

Question 1 of 6

What am I trying to understand?

Baraka: Why our garden dries out so fast, and what could keep more water in the soil.

A clear question comes first. In JEP, learners write it down in a Problem Brief before they use any tool: what is happening, what the problem is, the goal, what they need to find out, which tool could help, and how they will check the answer.

Next question

Question 2 of 6

What do I already know?

Baraka: Plants need water. By midday the leaves droop. The top of the soil is hard and cracked, and it is dry five centimetres down. The worst bed gets the most sun. Water is carried from the water point.

Starting from what he already knows shows him where the real gap is, and stops him from searching for things he could see for himself.

Next question

Question 3 of 6

What knowledge or capability am I missing?

Baraka: Knowledge: how soil holds water, and why bare soil loses it quickly. Capability: how to run a fair test, and how to record what happens.

Naming the gap precisely is what makes the next choice sensible.

Next question

Question 4 of 6

What resource can help me fill that gap?

Where do I look first?

Learners start at the top and move down a step only when the step above cannot fill the gap. This is the Tool Selection Ladder from the 360° JEP Studio curriculum.

  1. 1. Look for yourselfOwn observation
  2. 2. Ask a personA teacher or local expert
  3. 3. ReadThe offline library
  4. 4. Search the webWeb search
  5. 5. Ask an AI assistantAI assistant
  6. 6. Use a toolCalculator, spreadsheet or other tool

Baraka: He looks again at the beds, asks his agriculture teacher and a farmer who grows vegetables nearby, reads the chapter on soil in a library book, and then, with his teacher, asks an AI assistant to explain why covered soil stays moist and what he could test.

Different needs, different help

  • I need someone to explain or show meTeachers, classmates, books and knowledgeable people in the community.
  • I need evidenceSearch engines, research publications and digital libraries.
  • I need an idea explained, or help to think it throughLarge language models, such as an AI assistant, to explain, brainstorm and question, always checked.
  • I need to write, record, calculate or work with othersDocuments, spreadsheets, slides and email, for example in Google Workspace.
  • I need to show what I foundVisual design tools, for example Canva, for posters and diagrams. Paper and pens work too.
  • I need a simple form, website or appNo-code builders, which need no programming.
  • I need to measure or make somethingSensors, 3D printing and prototyping tools.
  • My problem involves energy, living things or spaceSolar and wind energy, biotechnology and space technology, where relevant and accessible through appropriate facilities or partners.

Brand names are examples only, not endorsements or partnerships. Spectrum Secondary School does not yet have advanced laboratories or the Studio equipment in the last two rows. Today, JEP at Spectrum has 10 laptops, 5 of them working, and one portable Wi-Fi unit. The Hybrid Edge JEP Studio is a design specification; its equipment is not at Spectrum.

Next question

Question 5 of 6

How will I check whether the result is reliable?

Four rules apply at every step of the ladder.

  • VerifyAny answer from the web or AI is checked against at least one other source, observation or expert before it is used.
  • Keep going offlineIf the internet is down, learners carry on with observation, experts, the offline library, local AI and offline tools. Online questions wait in a queue.
  • PrivacyNo learner's personal data goes into online tools or cloud AI.
  • DiscloseLearners record when and how AI helped, and can explain their work without AI.

Baraka: He checks the AI’s explanation against the library book and asks the farmer whether it fits local soil. In the end, his own test in the garden is his strongest evidence.

Next question

Question 6 of 6

What should I do next?

Baraka: Run the test. Cover two beds with dry grass, leave one bed bare, water early in the morning, and record what he sees every morning for three weeks.

The answer to this question is always an action, and every action produces new evidence. See how AI fits in or skip to the test.

How much AI depends on the class

In S1, Baraka’s teacher leads: she shows how an AI assistant works, and he uses it only with her. Learners gain independence class by class, up to learner-directed use with a verification log in S4. Internet and AI access by class

Parents and learnersIs AI safe for my child?

In JEP, AI use is supervised and grows class by class. The curriculum sets clear rules: no learner’s personal data goes into online tools or cloud AI, every answer is checked, and learners say when AI helped. From S3, cloud AI is used only with teacher approval, where the provider’s age rules allow. The filtered Studio network and guarded local AI tutor are part of the Hybrid Edge JEP Studio specification.

General visitorsWhy use AI at all?

Used well, it can help a learner understand an idea, see other possibilities and organise their thinking. JEP teaches learners when AI helps, when it does not, and how to check it. AI is optional and depends on the task: many steps of a project need no AI at all.

Scene 6 of 9

Asking AI, and checking it

AI enters the story only when it can fill a specific gap. Baraka’s teacher stays beside him.

  1. Reality
  2. Question
  3. Knowledge
  4. Tools
  5. Action
  6. Feedback
  7. Improvement
  1. 1ObserveHe observes the problem.
  2. 2FocusHis teacher helps him decide what needs investigating.
  3. 3Ask AIHe asks AI to explain possible causes and suggest useful questions.
  4. 4CheckHe checks the soil, the water supply, the sunlight and the plants.
  5. 5ConsultHe consults reliable sources and people who know.
  6. 6TestHe tests a change that fits.
  7. 7ImproveHe observes, gets feedback and improves.
In a classroom, Baraka types at a laptop while his teacher stands beside him and points to the screen. The blackboard behind them reads: water and soil; evaporation, infiltration, organic matter. A notebook and books lie on the table. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.
Illustration In S1, the teacher leads AI use. She sits with Baraka as he types.
AI assistantIllustrative conversation
  1. Baraka, with his teacherOur school garden dries out by midday. What could be causing it? Explain simply.
  2. AI assistantSome possible causes: the soil may have little organic matter, so it holds less water. Bare soil in full sun loses water quickly. Watering at midday loses more to evaporation. A hard crust can make water run off instead of soaking in.
  3. Baraka, with his teacherWhat questions should I investigate?
  4. AI assistantHow dry is the soil at different depths? Does covering the soil change how fast it dries? When is the best time to water?
  5. Baraka, with his teacherWhat is the best way to fix it?
  6. AI assistantInstall a drip irrigation system connected to your piped water supply, with a timer.

Check this. We have no piped water at school. Every litre is carried from the water point.

At the school water point, where water is collected in jerrycans, a local farmer explains something to Baraka while his teacher listens. Baraka writes in his notebook. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.
Illustration Baraka checks the suggestion with people who know local conditions.

Farmer“Cover the soil with dry grass. It keeps the water in. And water early, before the sun is strong.”

Teacher“Good. Now test it, so you know it works here, not just that someone said so.”

Baraka“Then I will need a fair test, and a way to record it.”

What AI did well

  • Explained ideas in simple words
  • Suggested questions to investigate
  • Compared possible approaches
  • Later, helped him organise his notes and plan his report

Where AI fell short

  • Suggested something that does not fit local reality: there is no piped water
  • Can make mistakes, and sound sure while making them
  • Can reflect bias: it draws most on places and people that are written about most
  • Cannot see Baraka’s garden, run a test or know his community

AI is a tool for supporting learning. It is not a substitute for evidence, human judgement, practical investigation or teachers.

TeachersHow do I guide projects and assess learning, not just the final product?

Look at the reasoning: the question, the evidence, how sources and AI answers were checked, the test, and what was improved. In JEP, learners record when and how AI helped, and they must be able to explain their work without it. From S3 they keep a verification log. Assessment captures learning and reasoning, not only the quality of the final product.

Scene 7 of 9

Acting, testing, improving

Tools become useful when they are combined with knowledge, action and feedback.

  1. Reality
  2. Question
  3. Knowledge
  4. Tools
  5. Action
  6. Feedback
  7. Improvement

One investigation, many kinds of help

  1. Ask peopleHis teacher, a farmer and his family: how do they water, and when?
  2. ResearchReliable sources on soil and covering soil, found with his teacher.
  3. Explore with AIExplanations and questions, each one checked.
  4. RecordEvery morning's observations, in a spreadsheet or a notebook.
  5. MeasureA ruler and the finger test; a soil moisture meter, if one is available.
  6. DesignA diagram and a poster, with a visual design tool or on paper.
  7. ShareHis findings, with classmates, families and the farmer.
  8. ImproveWhat worked, what did not, and what to try next.

For three weeks, Baraka checks the beds every morning before school and writes down what he finds.

A spreadsheet helps him see the pattern, and a simple chart makes it easy to share. The record matters more than the tool: a notebook would do the same job.

Baraka’s record. Soil at 5 cm at 7 am, and leaves at midday. Illustrative, not real data
DaySoil, bed A (grass)Soil, bed B (grass)Soil, bed C (bare)Leaves, ALeaves, BLeaves, C
Day 1DampDampDryUprightUprightDrooping
Day 8DampDampDryUprightUprightDrooping
Day 15DampDampDryUprightMostly uprightDrooping
Illustration. Before: three garden beds in front of a classroom block, with cracked soil and yellow, drooping plants.Before
Illustration. After the test: two beds are covered with dry grass and their plants stand upright and green, while the third bed, kept bare for comparison, still looks dry.After three weeks
Illustration Before, and after three weeks of testing. Beds A and B were covered with dry grass; bed C was left bare to compare. No harvests or results are claimed.

New evidence, new question

The covered beds stay damp for longer. But Baraka notices termites eating the dry grass. A new question begins: what could cover the soil without feeding termites?

  1. Reality
  2. Question
  3. Knowledge
  4. Tools
  5. Action
  6. Feedback
  7. Improvement

The journey is a loop, not a fixed sequence. New evidence sends Baraka back to a new question, and round again. In the classroom, his teacher organises the same work with the JEP cycle: DISCERN, PROMPT, PROTOTYPE and FEEDBACK. Learning stages and the learning cycle: what is the difference?

General visitorsWhat happens if an idea fails?

Then the learner has learned something. A test that does not work is evidence: it shows what to change. Feedback and improvement are part of every JEP project, and learners are assessed on their reasoning and what they learned, not only on whether the idea worked.

General visitorsWhat does the learner actually do?

Notices a real situation, asks questions, learns what is needed from teachers, people and sources, chooses suitable tools, tries something, records what happens, listens to feedback and improves it. Learners are guided to investigate problems. They are not expected to solve every problem they find.

Other learners, other problems

Every learner starts from something different

Short glimpses of the kinds of problems learners investigate. The illustrated ones are examples; the two marked as real come from Spectrum Secondary School.

  • Illustration. A learner looks closely at holes in maize leaves with a hand lens.
    Agriculture

    Holes in the maize leaves. Which pest is it, and what can a family do without costly chemicals?

    Possible pathway: Research
  • Illustration. A learner reads at night by a small solar lamp, with its solar panel beside him.
    Energy

    Homework by the light of a kerosene lamp. How long does a small solar lamp last, and is it worth what it costs?

    Possible pathway: Further learning
  • Illustration. Two learners sort plastic bottles from the school compound into sacks.
    Waste

    Plastic bottles across the school compound. What can be reused, and would anyone pay for it?

    Possible pathway: A small business, for some
  • Illustration. An older learner reads aloud to younger children under a tree.
    Education

    Younger children with few books at home. Could a reading club help them read sooner?

    Possible pathway: Community improvement
  • Illustration. A learner tests a simple handwashing station made from a jerrycan and sticks.
    Health

    Nowhere easy to wash hands. Can a simple handwashing station work at school?

    Possible pathway: A better practice at school
  • Illustration. A learner plants tree seedlings near the school.
    Environment

    Trees cut for firewood. Which seedlings grow well here, and who will look after them?

    Possible pathway: Community action
  • Real example

    An S4 learner team makes liquid soap for the school, which used to buy it from outside suppliers.

    The S4 liquid soap team
  • A round embroidered-style patch showing a rocket rising from a green planet, with the words Spectrum Space Team, Learning Beyond Limits and Project Star 2025.
    Real example

    Two JEP learners won the Best Mission Patch award in an international space design competition.

    Best Mission Patch award

A project may lead to a better practice at home or at school, a community intervention, research, a product, a service or, for some, an enterprise. Entrepreneurship is one possible pathway, not the destination.

Donors and partnersWhat outcomes is JEP intended to support?

Entrepreneurial capabilities that matter whatever a learner goes on to do: problem-solving, initiative, creativity, financial understanding and building useful solutions, together with agency, the growing ability to make informed decisions. These are intended outcomes. SXLA’s own 2025 programme assessment is internal and not yet independently verified. Impact and evidence

Scene 8 of 9

What schools change

Baraka’s story needs a school that makes room for it. JEP asks schools to make four changes.

  1. Reality
  2. Question
  3. Knowledge
  4. Tools
  5. Action
  6. Feedback
  7. Improvement
Illustration of a classroom that changes. At first, the teacher says listen and copy, the board is full of notes, an exam paper sits on a desk and the garden outside the window is dry. Then the teacher asks what learners notice at home, and they answer: our garden dries out, we carry water far. The board shows the four parts of the JEP cycle, DISCERN, PROMPT, PROTOTYPE and FEEDBACK. A table appears with a laptop, books, a ruler and a jerrycan, and the garden outside turns green. Finally a project portfolio records evidence, reasoning, testing and improving, and the exam paper becomes exam practice.Copy these notes1 DISCERN2 PROMPT3 PROTOTYPE4 FEEDBACKListen and copy.What do younotice at home?Our garden dries out.We carry water far.EXAM: Q1PROJECT PORTFOLIOEvidenceReasoningTesting and improvingEXAM PRACTICE
Illustration One classroom, changing with each of the four changes.

  1. Ask learners about their discomforts and challenges.

    The gapNo one asks about it.

    The JEP responseTeachers invite learners to identify what frustrates them, what they notice, and what they want to understand.

    For Baraka: Baraka’s garden becomes a topic in class, not a problem he carries alone.

  2. Help learners investigate problems and test solutions.

    The gapNo project method.

    The JEP responseLearners receive guidance to define a problem, investigate it, test ideas, and improve their work.

    For Baraka: He has a method to follow, from a question to a test to an improvement.

  3. Provide tools and resources.

    The gapNo tools or resources.

    The JEP responseLearners gain access to appropriate knowledge, people, research materials, digital tools, and practical resources.

    For Baraka: He can reach the knowledge, people and tools his question needs, starting with what is available locally.

  4. Connect assessment to the problems learners investigate.

    The gapExams on other problems.

    The JEP responseLearners apply curriculum knowledge through relevant assignments, demonstrations, investigations, project portfolios, and feedback while maintaining required curriculum coverage and examination preparation.

    For Baraka: His investigation counts as learning, and his exam preparation continues.

The changes work together, as one model. JEP complements the national curriculum and its examinations. It does not replace them, and it does not replace teachers.

The four changes in full, for schools

School leadersWhat does the school need to change, and what resources are required?

Protected time in the timetable, a place to work, teachers who are trained and coached, and access to materials, people and tools. A school can begin with what is available locally: expensive technology is not required to start. SXLA plans to support partner schools from 2029 through the JEP Studio Hub-and-Box Model, after the 2027 review at Spectrum. JEP for other schools

Parents and school leadersDoes JEP replace normal teaching or examinations?

No. Learners apply the knowledge the curriculum already asks for, in subjects such as biology, agriculture, geography and mathematics, and required coverage and examination preparation continue. JEP gives learners a reason to learn it, and a chance to use it.

Scene 9 of 9

Why the timing matters

Baraka starts S1 in 2026. By the time he leaves S4, many of the skills needed for work are expected to have changed.

  1. Reality
  2. Question
  3. Knowledge
  4. Tools
  5. Action
  6. Feedback
  7. Improvement
  1. Illustration. 2026, S1: Baraka, guided by his teacher, asks his first questions. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.

    2026

    S1 Explorer

    Teacher-guided. Baraka learns to notice, question and find out. His teacher leads any use of AI.

  2. Illustration. 2027, S2: Baraka plans his searches and keeps notes. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.

    2027

    S2 Investigator

    He plans his searches and runs his own tests.

    At Spectrum today, JEP runs on 10 laptops (5 working). The Hybrid Edge JEP Studio is a design specification, not yet equipment at the school.

  3. Illustration. 2028, S3: Baraka researches on his own and records how he checked what he found. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.

    2028

    S3 Investigator

    He researches more independently and keeps a log of how he checked what he found.

  4. Illustration. 2029, S4: Baraka leads his own project and helps a younger learner. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.

    2029

    S4 Innovator

    Learner-led. He directs his own project and helps younger learners with theirs.

  5. Illustration. 2030: Baraka chooses his next step: A-level, training, work or, for some learners, an enterprise of their own. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.

    2030

    Next A-level, training or work

    Whatever he chooses, he takes the habit of finding out with him.

Every year, the same journey goes deeper, and Baraka takes more of the lead. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.

On average, workers can expect that two-fifths (39%) of their existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated over the 2025 to 2030 period.

World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report 2025, January 2025. A projection based on a survey of more than 1,000 employers in 55 economies; global, not specific to Uganda. Read the report

In plain words

Learners are preparing for a world in which the skills needed for work keep changing. Employers in the same survey expect technological skills to grow in importance fastest, and creative thinking, and curiosity and lifelong learning, to grow in importance too. The skills outlook

So the most useful thing school can give Baraka is not a fixed set of answers. It is the ability to keep learning, investigate problems, judge information, work with others and use technology responsibly. That is what JEP practises in every project.

Closer to home

48.2% of young people aged 18 to 30 in Bunyoro sub-region, which includes Kikuube and Hoima, are not in employment, education or training. UBOS, from the Census 2024

Donors and partnersWhat problem does JEP address?

Secondary learners in Kyangwali can recall what they are taught but are not yet able to use it, and the challenges they live with rarely enter the classroom. Uganda’s curriculum asks for projects, but schools lack a project method, a way to choose and check tools and AI, and assessment that rewards testing and improving. The problem and the evidence

Donors and partnersWhat evidence would demonstrate progress?

A baseline and a comparison group start in 2027, so that future reports show measured change, and an independent mid-term review is planned for 2028. Progress would show as learners moving up SXLA’s five-level capability scale: for example, the share of JEP learners at Level 4 (Capable) or above rising from 30% to 50%, measured against a comparison group. These are targets, not results. Theory of change and targets

For every reader

Questions, answered

Each question links to the scene that answers it.

Parents and learners

Teachers

School leaders

Donors and partners

General visitors

Six things to remember

  • JEP complements the curriculum. It does not replace it.
  • Teachers remain central.
  • AI is optional and depends on the task.
  • Entrepreneurship is one possible pathway, not the destination.
  • Learners investigate problems. They are not expected to solve every problem.
  • Tools and activities fit local conditions and available resources.
Credits

Sources

External sources for the facts in this story, checked on 17 October 2026. Everything about Baraka is illustrative; everything about Spectrum Secondary School and the plans for JEP comes from SXLA’s own records and documents.

  • The Future of Jobs Report 2025

    World Economic Forum, January 2025

    A survey of more than 1,000 employers on how jobs and skills are expected to change between 2025 and 2030. Source of the 39% projection in Scene 9.

    Read the reportSkills outlook chapter

  • Goal 2: Zero Hunger

    United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals

    End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Target 2.4 includes resilient agricultural practices that help farms adapt to drought. Used in Scene 4.

    Goal 2 and its targets

  • Goal 4: Quality Education

    United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals

    Target 4.4: by 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.

    Goal 4 and its targets

  • International Youth Day 2025

    Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 19 September 2025

    Figures from the National Population and Housing Census 2024, including the share of young people in Bunyoro sub-region not in employment, education or training. Used in Scene 9.

    Read the brochure (PDF)

From SXLA’s own documents. The Tool Selection Ladder, its four rules and Internet and AI access by class come from the 360° JEP Studio curriculum. School figures come from Spectrum Secondary School records. Resources and downloads

Evening light over the school garden. Baraka and his teacher stand by the covered beds, looking at what has grown, and a loop arrow in the sky stands for the next question. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person.

The end of this story, and the start of the next question

JEP creates the conditions that make learners want to know, then teaches them how to find out, with teachers guiding the journey and technology serving the learning.

How JEP worksJEP for other schoolsSupport JEPContact us

Story and illustrations: SXLA. Photographs: SXLA, showing the real setting at Spectrum Secondary School. Baraka is an illustrative learner, not a real person. The people in the illustrations are illustrative. This story shows how JEP is designed to work; it does not report results.

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