Private schools in Luweero district have been accused of sabotaging the development of the thematic curriculum, the programme designed to teach learners in their local language up to P4.
Close to a decade ago, government introduced the curriculum to assist learners to develop competencies and life skills after instruction in their own language. Experts insisted at the time, that learners who mastered basic literacy and numeracy skills in their mother tongue were better prepared to succeed in the English language as well.
However, in responding to concerns by parents, The Observer has found that several area private schools in the have been reluctant to adhere to the thematic curriculum policy.
Henry Kemba and Yudaya Zawedde, both teachers at Luweero SDA primary school, confirmed that private schools have de-campaigned the programme to woo parents.
“Private schools mislead parents over this thematic curriculum. Government needs to sensitize the parents about the need to teach the children in Luganda because they [parents] are only interested in English,” Zawedde said.
“Most parents don’t know these things but these people [private school owners] who approach them at home, ask them to send children to their schools [after] giving them wrong information.”
Jaden Salwa, a language teacher at Kasana Quality School, added that they had enrolled more pupils as parents had indicated that they wanted their children to learn English.
“We have received an increase in the number of pupils here because of the parents transferring their children from government schools to our school. They want their children to learn English because in government schools, mostly in lower primary, they learn Luganda,” she said.
However, some proprietors of private schools disagree. For instance, Gideon Serubiri, the head teacher at New Africa Day & Boarding primary school insisted it was the good standards at the school that propel parents to send in their children.
Salwa added that, “these parents always come to us and when we ask them why they are bringing their children here, they tell us that they want them to learn English.”
In its defence, the Luweero District Inspector of Schools, Hajji Uthuman Kamoga Jjuuko said the thematic curriculum programme is good but it is misunderstood.
“Most parents were not sensitized about it. Government needed to first sensitize parents… most of them thought it [teaching in Luganda] breeds failures in the finals [PLE] which are set and answered in English.”
Two weeks after public universities closed due to a strike over salaries, there is no way forward.
CHRISTOPHER TUSIIME has been meeting some of the protagonists in the struggle and finds that there is more than meets the eye in the continuing salary dispute.
Last Thursday, the vice chancellor of Makerere University, Prof John Ddumba-Ssentamu ruled that the institution would not open today, as previously communicated.
“Following the continued industrial action by the non-teaching staff … Makerere is closed until further notice, and all halls of residence that have been open will also be closed,” said Ddumba Ssentamu.
He added that the decision had been confirmed by the university’s council chairman, Dr Charles Wana-Etyem. The situation is also the same at the other public universities, Busitema, Gulu, Kyambogo, Mbarara and Makerere University Business School (Mubs).
This was after a controversial meeting of non teaching staff from the institutions was held in Makerere last Thursday, and resolved to continue with industrial action. Meeting as the Public Universities Non-Teaching Staff Executive Forum (Puntsef), they argued that they would even go on hunger strike if compelled to work.
“We have heard rumours that we are to be forced back to work, but let’s make this clear: without enhanced salaries and paid arrears, we shall not open these universities, and work,” Puntsef chairperson Jackson Betihamah said.
Jackson Betihamah (2nd Left) consults with other PUNTSEF members
Complementing Betihamah, the chairperson of National Union of Educational Institutions (NUEI), Amos Tukamushaba said the matter should have been resolved a long time ago.
“It is unfortunate that a simple issue like this has taken us this far. This money should have been paid yesterday and not today or tomorrow. We need our enhanced salaried first, then work next,” Tukamushaba said.
SALARY DISPUTE
However, the matter has taken on a life of its own. A statement from the finance ministry indicated that the non-teaching staff had been paid enhanced salaries in line with earlier requests.
The non teaching staff had requested that their salaries be enhanced to match those of their academic colleagues. A release sheet, showing how the money was disbursed last month, indicates that the biggest beneficiaries were those in the lower ranks, some of whom obtained over 100 per cent increments.
However, according to an official in the finance ministry, who declined to be named, those pushing for the strike, ended up as the least beneficiaries.
“People in salary ranks like M20, where you have sweepers, saw their pay raised from Shs 244,185 to Shs 507,085 per month … an increment of 93%,” he said. “By comparison, where you find degree holders like M6, the increment was only 8%.”
Even officials at directorship level, where you find postgraduate degree holders (usually PhDs) enjoyed a 53% increment. Challenged about this, Puntsef officials told The Observer that they were not satisfied with how the increments had been made, explaining that this was the gist of the inconclusive meeting with the education minister, last Monday.
However, in a startling turn of events, the chairperson of the Mubs non- teaching staff, Bombeka Bataringaya was furious that his institution had missed out on the salary enhancement.
“Whereas staff in the other five universities had received last month’s salary, for us we haven’t received even a single coin,” he railed, prompting his colleagues to call for strike action.
STUDENTS INVOLVEMENT
There is concern that if not resolved the strike action could become explosive, once students get involved. The guild presidents of public universities, meeting under their umbrella body, Public Universities Student Leaders Forum (PUSLF), resolved last Wednesday, that unless the grievances of striking staff were addressed by
Monday, they would also join the industrial action. In a hastily-convened meeting at Makerere on Wednesday, the chairperson of PUSLF and guild president of Gulu University, Robert Mukembo said that the strike had lasted for too long.
“We as leaders of students have now decided that if these public universities don’t open by Friday evening, we are going to … call upon all students to turn up in large numbers, and we join the striking staff in a walk to the Constitutional Square to demand for our rights,” Mukembo warned, last Wednesday.
The guild presidents included Jothan Burobuto (Makerere) Lawrence Lugalavu (Kyambogo) David Wekoye (Busitema) and Charles Obore (Mbarara University of Science and Technology).
This prompted Betihamah to appeal to the students to remain calm.
“Students should know that some of the striking staff members are their parents. How do they think we can get tuition fees without being paid?” he wondered.
However, those close to him argue that Betihamah is counting on pressure from the more than 110,000 affected students to persuade the Finance ministry to concede and pay the staff more money.
Anyone visiting Namagumba primary school in Mbale, five years ago, would have been displeased by its poor state.
However, thanks to the activism of the school’s head teacher, Ben Watulo, they have received substantial support from World Vision and the Korean government.
During a visit to Namagumba by the donors last week, Watulo was full of praises for World Vision Korea, who had among others supported the construction of six classroom blocks and 24 latrine stances, among others.
“Previously, the school has suffered inadequate structures and scholastic materials such as text books and sports equipment. World Vision Uganda with support of the Korean government has donated desks to all classes, textbooks, library single seater desks and tables,” Watulo said.
Pupils of Namagumba Primary School draw water from an underground tank constructed by World Vision Uganda
Additionally, the school has received a library and one underground water tank. Watulo noted that although government has provided the school with UPE funds, scholastic materials and teachers, these have not been enough with the growing population. Currently, the school has an enrollment of 994 pupils.
Similarly, Lubembe primary school in Mbale also received support from the Korean government through World Vision Uganda. This includes a gravity water scheme, learning aids, latrines, a staffroom and text books, among others,
According to Fred Nagwere, the school’s head teacher, Lubembe, which started in 1969 as a sub-grade school (P1 to P3), has seen its enrolment rise from 425 pupils in 2015 to 616 in 2016.
An international survey has found that Ndejje University is the second most popular institution of higher education in the country, after Makerere.
The ranking, by 4 International Colleges & Universities, comes as students are looking to settle into their institutions for the start of the first semester of the year.
4 International Colleges & Universities (4icu.org) is a ranking, that looks at 11,606 Colleges and Universities from across the world, ranked by their popularity in 200 countries.
The 4icu.org directory, which has been published since May 2005, uses various methods to aggregate universities, including personal preferences. However, the 4icu.org warns that the ranking is not necessarily a reflection of academic performance.
“The aim of this [ranking] is to provide an approximate popularity ranking of world universities and Colleges based upon the popularity of their websites,” reads the explanation on 4icu.org’s website.
“This is intended to help international students and academic staff to understand how popular a specific University/College is in a foreign country. We do not claim - by any means - to rank organisations or their programmes, by the quality of education or level of services provided.”
Data and information about the institutions is included on a monthly basis and the ranking updated every six months, usually in January and July.
Table of top 20 most popular Universities
1. Makerere University 2. Ndejje University 3. Mbarara University of Science and Technology 4. Uganda Christian University 5. Kampala International University 6. Kyambogo University 7. Uganda Technology and Management University 8. Uganda Martyrs University 9. Victoria University 10. International University of East Africa 11. Islamic University in Uganda 12. Gulu University 13. Mountains of the Moon University 14. Bugema University 15. Muni University 16. Nkumba University 17. International Health Sciences University 18. Busitema University 19. Muteesa I Royal University 20. Livingstone International University
Some 140 sheikhs last week graduated from Bilal Islamic Institute in Kakiri, Wakiso with a call to preach the faith in rural areas and be role models for Islam.
The appeal came from the chairman of BMK group of companies, Bulaimu Muwanga Kibirige, who presided over the 46th graduation ceremony at the institute in Wakiso, where 119 new sheikhs and 21 sheikats were commissioned.
He alerted the graduands of the shortage of imams and urged them to be careful when they start their work.
“The World is filled with many societal challenges which require you to move out and preach the word of God especially among rural communities were imams are scarce,” he noted.
“I’m [pledging to] sponsor the training of a few students from this institute, who can do medicine and other science disciplines as my personal contribution because it is a calling from God to offer such an opportunity to the bright students but needy.”
Some of the Sheikats who graduated
Kibirige, who is a former student of the institute, argued that it was his duty to give back. He recently helped raise Shs 150m during a fundraising ceremony at Bilal Islamic institute’s Bwaise branch. The money is required to construct a new building complex to expand education services at that facility.
He later challenged the institute principal, Sufiyana Muguluma to set up a fundraising drive for a multipurpose building in memory of its current board of trustees’ chairman, Sheikh Obeid Kamulegeya.
“It would be wise for you as management … to build a multipurpose building in honor of Sheikh Obeid Kamulegeya for his outstanding leadership for this 46-year-old institute,” Kibirige observed adding that he would be ready to support such initiative.
For her part, Muguluma urged the outgoing students to protect the image of Bilal as it has trained and nurtured thousands of current Islamic leaders.
During the commemoration of the World Aids day last year, veteran artiste and Alina Talents executive director ALOYSIUS MATOVU JOY declared that he was HIV positive.
His testimony of living with the virus, for 16 years now, caught many including fellow artistes off-guard. Matovu talked to Yudaya Nangonzi about what he is doing to give back to society.
“Can Philly Lutaaya’s courage be echoed in Bakayimbira’s Matovu?” Well that is the feeling for now. A close friend to the legendary Lutaaya, Matovu says he has always felt challenged to meet the high standards reached by the Swedish singer.
In 1988, singer Philly Bongoley Lutaaya made headlines when he announced that he was HIV+. Yet recently, Matovu was invited by Lutaaya’s daughter Tezirah Lutaaya to write and recite a poem about his father.
“Now, when I read that article … I want to show people that the journey has now started and no looking back,” the 55-year-old actor says.
Aloysius Matovu Joy speaks to a student during the drama
On July 29, he worked with Alina Talents and the 1st infantry division of Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) to launch a campaign to sensitise students. Dubbed Soldiers for Life, the one-year campaign targets higher institutions and schools in Buganda, Bunyoro and Busoga, using drama to teach about the dangers of HIV.
Speaking to students of Old Kampala SS last week, during the launch of the school tours, Matovu said many youths are sexually active but are clueless on what to do, including those that are HIV positive.
“As you see me here, I am HIV positive but I’m not ill. What is troubling me now is diabetes,” he said. “Doctors tell me that my virus is undetectable because I adhere to my medication which I call my daily bread,” he said.
Capt Yusuf Katamba, the coordinator of the campaign, said it was initiated following the huge number of young people that turned up at the Kakiri military hospital for treatment of malaria and other illness, only to be found with HIV.
“We have decided to move into schools to ensure that we reduce on the infections. The numbers are alarming and we can only stop this through a pro-active strategy of edutainment,” Katamba said.
He added that the campaign will run for a year and later assess its impact on whether to roll it out to other parts of the country. Globally, an estimated 37 million people are living with HIV, the virus that causes Aids.
Statistics from ministry of Health indicate that out of the 83,265 new infections, 3,487 (4 per cent) were children below 14 years while teenagers between 15 to 24 years were 29,509 (35 per cent).
SWEET ENEMY DRAMA
At Old Kampala, students were treated to 45-minute play titled; ‘Sweet enemy in schools’. Written by Andrew Damba, also part of the 28-member cast, the play portrays the vicious cycle of sexual immorality and HIV/Aids in schools.
Damba told The Observer that he conceived the idea after reflecting on many sexual escapades he observed among students.
“As a teacher, I feel I have done some substantial work for the youth through this play. It will not only guide students but also teachers and school proprietors,” said Damba, now a tutor at NTC Mubende.
UPDF political commissar Col Felix Kulayigye urged students to use each minute they spend at school to gain knowledge to develop the country.
“When someone says you are beautiful, say thank you and then tell him, so what? When they call you a dude, say thank you and say you have heard it before because sugar mummies are now after young boys,” Kulayigye told students. “No one is worth your attention except your academics because the future is much better than the present.”
At the end of the day, Maj Benedicto Kyamanywa, the in-charge of laboratory testing for the campaign, said they tested at least 249 students. Schools lined up so far for the play are; Kings College Buddo and Namagabi SS as they wait for more invites.
What students say?
Ronald Baguma, S5C Relating the HIV/Aids prevalence to us the youth through a play was the best idea. The play was very moving. I conclude that abstinence is the best cure to HIV/Aids for school-going children. To fellow students, I believe we can hold on until we get married.
Jaudah Nalumu, S6A, 18 I have learnt not to engage in early sex most especially when you are still in school. To my fellow girls, once you get pregnant, seek a counselor and avoid abortions.
Steven Kalibbala, Head prefect, S5C, 21 The play has been very educative and full of fun. Students should know that whatever they are telling us is out of experience. I think if we adhere to their message, we shall realise the future of Uganda.
Jessica Grace, S5V, 18 I have learnt to befriend teachers with an aim of helping me during revision and guidance but not engaging in love affairs.
It was planned as the strike to end all strikes. Two weeks ago, the non-teaching staff vowed not to return to work, unless all their demands had been met. However, as CHRISTOPHER TUSIIME reports, the staff are back to work, with just a promise.
A week ago today, the Education Minister, Janet Kataaha Museveni summoned the striking non teaching staff leaders to a meeting to iron out their grievances.
Arriving into the expansive conference room at the Office of the Prime Minister, Museveni had asked the angry protestors to make their presentations and be done within the hour, so the room would be occupied by another meeting.
But the rambling went on for four hours, starting at 11am, before an exasperated minister had to intervene and break up the session. However, this was not before she appealed to striking workers to be patient as she worked the wheels of government to secure their promised salary increment by October (in the second quarter of the year).
Not content with her assertions, the Public Universities Non-Teaching Staff Executive Forum (Puntsef) angrily dismissed her appeal, in a subsequent session. In her absence, Puntsef chairman, Jackson Betihamah railed against the first lady and insisted that they had a promise from the president to increase their pay immediately.
“We shall not return to work until the president ensures that our salary is enhanced and our arrears are paid,” Betihamah declared.
Nonplussed, the education minister held several meetings with university management teams and finance ministry officials, to resolve the crisis. She secured promises from officials from Makerere, Gulu, Kyambogo, Busitema, Mbarara University of Science and Technology (Must) and Makerere University Business School (Mubs) to resume work.
Indeed by Wednesday evening, more than 4,600 non-teaching staff members at these public universities were ready to suspend a sit down strike that was threatening to creep into a third week. Some universities like Makerere hired temporary staff to help out with some administrative duties, including cleaning.
FRESH COMPELLING PROMISES
But things took a new direction when president Museveni summoned the Puntsef executive to State House on Tuesday.
This meeting included Betihamah, Bruce Twesigye (Puntsef member from Makerere), Prof Barnabas Nawangwe (deputy vice chancellor Makerere), Amos Ddembe (Makerere), Hajatti Fatumah Nakatudde (Makerere) and Amos Tukamushaba (Makerere) and a few others.
Members of the Non Teaching Staff at Makerere University vote to suspend the strike after receiving a briefing on what transpired at State House
According to some of those who attended, the president was in an uncompromising mood, continually lambasting Betihamah for attempting to push his hand.
“The president kept calling out my name like 15 times … asking me whether he had ever failed to keep a promise,” a chastened Betihamah said later.
Just like the education minister earlier, the president made what Betihamah called a fresh compelling promise.
“The president requested us to suspend our strike and resume working on grounds that money for salaries enhancement and arrears was to be paid in three months from Aug 16 when we met with him,” he said, to Makerere staff last Wednesday.
“He said that he has never lied to us and that we should take his word as gospel truth. We then called for a Puntsef meeting, and agreed to suspend the strike and give the President some more time.”
Betihamah, who had turned the ‘no money, no work’ phrase into his mantra, told the Makerere staff members that he had finally realised that the President “doesn’t like being pulled by the collar” in order to effect his promises.
And to prove his point, unlike the last time, the president pointedly refused to put his promise in writing, despite pleas from the puntsef executive.
CONSENSUS NOTE
According to the secretary of the Makerere University Senior Administrative Staff Association, Vincent Abigaba , which is part of Puntsef, the president was unaware of their preferred basis of payment which was using a consensus note.
“We were shocked to find that the president didn’t know anything about the consensus note which was prepared by the ministry of Education and approved by ministry of Finance,” Abigaba said.
He added: “The president also said that during these three months, he will carefully look at our consensus note and see how possible it was to use it to harmoniously pay us. Members agree with me that we have come from far with this struggle and let us go back to work as this issue gets sorted.”
The meeting agreed with him in a unanimous vote. The president, Betihamah said, also promised to set up a committee to review the consensus note and implement it after.
RE-OPENING UNIVERSITIES
After the suspension of the strike on Wednesday, Makerere University Council announced the opening of the campus for a new academic year.
“First year students shall report on Saturday Aug 20, 2016. All continuing students shall report on Sunday Aug 21, and semester one academic Year 2016/2017 shall end on Dec 17 instead of Dec 10 as earlier scheduled,” said Charles Wana-Etyem, the chairman Makerere university council. All the other universities were due to formally open today.
Kitende Church of Uganda primary school has launched a bid to raise Shs 150m to repair the 80-year-old school.
Working through the Anglican Church in Wakiso, Canon Johnan Kisawuzi of Entebbe archdeaconry appealed to well-wishers to support the school.
“We appeal to all people of goodwill to join us in this project of raising Shs 150m towards repair of this school, built in early 1930s, because it has made many of you what you are today,” said Kisawuzi.
He was speaking during the school’s reunion day last week, where the school’s best P7 performers were commended for their efforts in last year’s end-of-year exams.
According to the chairman of the school management committee, Amos Sempa, the appeal came after district officials condemned the aging buildings, as unfit for human habitation.
“Our new headmaster Moses Sewalu should be commended for enabling the school to secure four first grades in the recent history of the school because they had taken years without getting anything,” Ssempa said.
The school’s current enrolment stands at 674. The chairman of the old students association, Yona Kayanja, encouraged the alumni to support the initiative.
In response, the headmistress of nearby Kitende SS, Ruth Mande Muyinda, who was chief guest, donated Shs 2m and pledged to increase on the senior one admission slots allocated to the school.
For years, St Mary’s College Kisubi (SMACK) was synonymous with its location along Entebbe road.
Well, this is about to change with the news, that the Catholic Church will soon support construction of a new campus in Kabojja.
Addressing students and alumni at the school over the weekend, the vicar general of Kampala Archdiocese, Msgr Charles Kasibante, applauded the move.
“The Catholic Church welcomes and supports the school's proposal to open up a new campus, as a strategy to continue offering high-quality education to the citizens of the country,” he said.
Msgr Kasibante was in Kisubi to initiate several students, some receiving their holy communion for the first time, and others being confirmed in the Catholic faith.
In his remarks, the school headmaster, Bro Deodati Aganyira, said they are converting their 10 acres of school farmland in Kabojja into a new campus at Kabojja. The new campus will start with S1 and S5 students, after overwhelming pressure from parents seeking admission to SMACK.
“Thousands were applying for places here and we can’t take them all … so, we took a decision to expand the school by converting part of the 10 acres of school farmland at Kabojja to build a new campus,” he said.
“By end of this year, we believe it will be ready; by first term next year, to exclusively admit senior ones and senior fives students.”
Six youth organisations have started a movement to assist troubled children, especially those suffering from the consequences of drug abuse and other peer-related problems.
FourSum Uganda, Wrist House Uganda, and Vital Voices, in partnership with Nakulabye Youth Group, Naguru Teenage Information and Health Centre and Mwana wa Ggwanga Foundation are currently leading the campaign, dubbed #EndChildTraffickingUG.
Using drama and mentorship programmes, the organisations are meeting children, parents and communities either involved or reluctant to address the issues.
For instance, Agnes Namakula (not real name), a student at Nabisunsa Girls' Secondary School in Wakiso, was drawn into selling cannabis sativa (also known locally as mairungi) by her stepfather in Seeta trading centre, Mukono district in 2013.
St Augustine Secondary School students holding a placard
In 2014, Namakula was brought to Nabisunsa by her guardian to resume education. According to Allan Semiyagi, a teacher at the school, due to the increasing number of similar students, they have established counseling and health clubs.
“Some students won’t reveal their situations but for those that have come out, it is alarming. These drama performances and counseling sessions have been helpful in opening their [students] eyes on the issue,” Semiyagi says.
At Nabisunsa, each teacher is assigned 30 to 50 students for mentorship and counseling. It appears to be working as students like Namakula are slowly starting to cope with societal challenges.
The programme is being spread to several schools, including the St Lawrence group of schools.
Three East African science teachers are smiling with rarefied joy after they were selected to become part of the inaugural East African Development Bank (EADB) scholarship programme in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) class.
The three, Theode Niyirinda (Gayaza High School), Emmanuel Nsadha (Ndejje SS) and Alfred Mutembei Limbere (Mikinduri Girls SS in Kenya) are scheduled to pursue Master's degrees in Education and Mathematics at Rutgers University and New Jersey Institute of Technology in the USA.
The EADB held a farewell party for the successful teachers, last week. Muhakanizi, who is the permanent secretary, ministry of finance EADB board chairman, applauded the successful applicants.
“I hope you return,” joked Keith Muhakanizi, the EADB board chairman, sending the scholars in stitches.
“Sadly, East Africa is losing a lot of expertise to the developing world and yet we need to help ourselves as a region.”
(L-R): Finance Permanent Secretary Keith Muhakanizi, Director General of the East African Development Bank Vivienne Yeda and the three scholarship teachers at the farewell event
In response, 31-year-old Niyirinda and 26-year-old Mutembei joined Nsadha in expressing their willingness to return and serve their homeland.
“I’m speechless. I have always wanted to upgrade on my degree from Makerere [University] but never thought of attaining it from USA; and so, I hope to bring back useful and practical information,” said 33-year-old Nsadha.
The trio went through an appraisal and students’ management process, selected from 123 applicants, drawn from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania.
In explaining the programme, EADB’s director general, Vivienne Yeda, said they were keen to increase the number of qualified academics in the STEM fields in East Africa.
The fully-funded EADB graduate level scholarship will provide full tuition, accommodation, allowances for the next two years.
Godfrey Dhatemwa, commissioner for Planning and Policy Analysis
The education ministry has resolved to hold an advocacy campaign to save the pupils of Mudodo primary school in Tororo, from a dysfunctional learning environment.
This is after an inspection report found it at the top of the list of schools whose pupils regularly fall pregnant and drop out. The report found that in the last eight months, the government-owned Mudodo PS in Nyangole sub-county had seen 67 of its female pupils impregnated.
The news came to light during last week’s education sector review workshop, when the commissioner for Planning and Policy Analysis at the ministry, Godfrey Dhatemwa, cited the school in his report of their field findings.
“The purpose of this exercise was to generate first-hand information on governance and management issues in various education and training institutions,” he explained.
Later, the assistant commissioner for policy analysis, Rosemary Waya, explained that officials were dumbfounded on hearing from the school administration. During their August 15 meeting, officials talked to staff and pupils about the environment there, who pleaded for assistance about their helpless situation.
According to Waya, the matter was first raised by Annet Achieng, a P3 class teacher, who said many of the girls were dropping out of school.
“When we tried to follow up on these girls, the parents lied that they would return them to school. But, all of the sudden, we heard some families discussing dowry issues,” Achieng was quoted as saying. “That thing has disturbed us so much mostly on the girl child and the parents don’t seem to care.”
Achieng said most of their community members have low literacy levels, which makes it hard to sensitise their children. Mudodo PS teachers also complained that since most people in the community eke out a living from brewing alcohol, some children come to school drunk.
“The parents also drink a lot and children come with waragi sachets to school,” a teacher said. “When we send children back home to bring their parents, they just insult us to leave their children alone and concentrate on our school duties.”
In the same meeting, two pupils were presented to the ministry officials; one, supposedly in primary six and another in primary three, who readily admitted to smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol at school respectively.
The school leaders also claimed that they were regularly harassed by the locals, with some launching campaigns to have strict teachers transferred elsewhere. Waya said the ministry is planning to visit the school in October, with a view to meeting parents of the 67 pregnant girls.
“We want to meet the parents of these girls to make them understand that it is criminal to give away girls at a tender age. We need to stress the importance of education for these young children,” Waya said.
She added that there is a serious need for dialogue with the community as well as the construction of a head teacher’s office and primary one and two classrooms for children that are studying under a tree.
The general findings in schools also revealed practices such as poor recordkeeping, absenteeism, late coming and inadequate community support, among others, as hindrances to quality education in schools.
Mudodo PS is part of the 4,320 schools/institutions visited by the ministry in preparation for this year’s education sector review. Of these, 3,687 were primary, 595 secondary and 39 tertiary institutions. The field information obtained was to be used to guide and enrich the budgeting workshops in the ministry.
Months of delayed pay have proved too much for staff at Muteesa I Royal University to deal with, prompting a row with their vice chancellor, Prof Arthur Sserwanga.
It has not helped that low morale by staff has coincided with a declining enrolment at the Buganda kingdom-founded institution. When we visited last week, the academic registrar was not in office; however, an official in the same office admitted that the enrolment had declined from 5,500 students last year to 2,500.
Acknowledging the same point, a member of the university academic staff association complained to the management, a fortnight ago.
“Although the salary is small, let it come in time. Part-time and fulltime workers should receive their salary regularly … as this affects the quality of services offered by the workers thus tarnishing the name of the university,” he wrote.
For a year now, staff have been paid in installments, sending arrears to over Shs 1.1bn. This complaint last week prompted, the university council chairman, Dr Frank Ssebowa, to pledge to meet the staff arrears at the earliest opportunity.
“Your salaries will be worked upon after discussing the issue with the board of directors… we have ambitious plans for a major fundraising drive that will also look at putting up new a building complex and administration blocks in order to improve on our infrastructures,” he declared.
Dr Ssebowa also pledged that the council was conscious of a need to set up a drive to increase on enrolment. Following Dr Ssebowa’s assurance, the staff received half of their July salaries.
VC IN TURMOIL
It is not certain if these assurances placated the staff. However, some lecturers have been circulating an email purported to have been authored by the vice chancellor.
In the email, Prof Sserwanga is supposedly threatening to sack any lecturers who do not agree with him, following a staff meeting they held at the institution last week.
“Instead of concentrating on your duties and responsibilities as per your respective offices, you have opted to hold meetings in all corners to complain about the VC’s fraud, exorbitant salary, dictatorship, selfishness and failure to run the university,” the email reads in part.
“Some of you think that reporting me to your cheap relatives at Bulange will frustrate my plans, but I dare you! … those relatives are nothing to me as the people with whom we want to accomplish our mission are also in Bulange and bigger than your so-called relatives.”
When asked about the email, Prof Sserwanga denied authoring it, then declined to comment further, as the matter is now under investigation by the university council.
STUDENT STRIKE
Whatever the situation, all is not well at Muteesa I Royal University. Only on August 27, police were called in to quell a student riot that caused the abandonment of an impromptu university council meeting, called to resolve some of the troubles there.
At least 10 students, including the guild president Jesse Lumu were detained overnight, after they attempted to storm the venue of the meeting at the university's main campus in Masaka.
The angry students initially blocked officials from leaving the meeting room and threatened to lynch them, accusing them of failing to sack the university vice chancellor, who they say has mismanaged the institution.
Muteesa I Royal University was launched by Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi in 2007 and the current vice chancellor took office in September 2014. Last October 2015, the Kabaka appointed Justice Julia Sebutinde as chancellor, a position he himself had previously held.
Samsung Electronics Africa have made a new step towards the launch of e-learning in Uganda, with the inauguration of the solar-powered internet schools (SIPS).
Last Thursday, officials gathered at Nsangi SS in Wakiso, for the formal launch of the SIPS smart classroom, previously housed in a cargo container, but now moved into a building.
Officiating at the function, Samsung’s country manager Amos Mulago, explained that they were establishing this measure to enable more students to benefit from soft skills, necessary for their future.
“We realised that the computers were very few [in the SIPS] and we had to get a bigger classroom for the students,” he said. “We did this because this is one of the needy schools.”
He acknowledged that in the past, students complained about the few computers and heat, prompting the move. The container is repurposed to accommodate up to 24 pupils; at Nsangi the student, making for student to computer ratio of 38:1. The school enrolment stands at over 2,133 students.
The smart classroom at Mackay College in Nateete
Samsung electronics recently delivered another SIPS to Mackay College in Nateete, imported from South Africa. Unlike the one in Nsangi, the smart classroom at Mackay College is equipped with air conditioning.
Speaking on behalf of the education ministry, the commissioner in charge of Secondary Education, Benson Kule, commended the move for also dealing with other challenges such as the lack of electricity and internet connectivity.
“This innovation of the solar-powered internet schools will go a long way in resolving lack of electricity and ICT class room infrastructure especially in rural areas,” Kule said.
The new classroom accommodates 43 computer laptops. However, Samsung will distribute temporary smart classrooms to schools with a critical need. The temporary classroom consists of a 12-meter renovated shipping container that has been customized into a classroom setting.
It is equipped with a 65-inch large format display screen, a teacher laptop designed to monitor all other activities done by the students and a solar panel.
According to the World Bank, only seven African countries have electricity access rates exceeding 50 per cent. Only 15 per cent of Ugandan households have access to electricity and far less to computers.
For most of last week, the entire education sector leadership converged on Golf Course hotel to review progress over the last year, and chart a way forward. MOSES TALEMWA and YUDAYA NANGONZI followed the proceedings.
For the second year running, the education sector will maintain the bulk of its focus on improving learning outcomes at the lower levels of education. That was the message from new education minister, Janet Museveni, as she delivered her speech at the start of the 23rd Education Sector review, last Tuesday.
In her remarks, the minister pledged to take action against several issues in the entire sector. However, she singled some teething issues including pupil and teacher absenteeism, ending girl child pregnancy, inappropriate sexuality education, managerial inadequacies of head teachers and inadequate science and mathematics teachers.
The minister’s concerns are driven by several concerns, including a damning sector-wide field report, carried out by the planning and policy analysis department. She was also concerned about the results of some reports from the department of the inspectorate. The results included one damning report highlighted Mudodo PS in Tororo, which was cited for having an unacceptably-high rate of pregnancies among learners there.
At least 67 girls dropped out of the school, after getting pregnant. Mpanga SS in Kabarole was also cited for poor administration after it was closed twice this year, over student strikes there.
The minister also had to sit through a presentation by the donor community, who considered the performance of the education sector to have been weaker than the previous years.
Education Minister Janet Museveni (R) arrives for the start of the Sector Review workshop, accompanied by the chairperson of the Education Service Commission Hajji Badru Waggwa Lubega (C) and other ministry officials
In his presentation, Jeremiah Mutonga, the resident representative for the African Development Bank, was displeased by the slow progress in key areas of the sector.
“The low achievement levels in literacy at primary three and six may be attributed to inadequate school inspection and teachers’ professional support,” he said. “But it calls all of us to improve participation … for all subsectors in the coming year.”
Mutonga was also upset about the overall slow progress in implementing the $100m grant that Uganda won from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) programme.
“The mid-term review of the project will start this week [last week] and yet only 21 per cent of funds have been disbursed to date with 47 per cent of time expired,” Mutonga said. “Core activities including construction work at 220 primary schools have not yet started and yet this is the main budgeted activity.”
Starting January 1, 2017, the Belgian embassy will take over as the coordinator of the Education Development Partners (EDPs) from the African Development Bank, who held the docket last year.
In their concluding remarks, the EDPs stressed seven priorities for next year; including addressing inefficiencies in the implementation of donor-funded programmes, adopting and rolling the lower secondary curriculum and ensuring regular monitoring, transparency and accountability to enhance education at all levels. In her remarks, the minister was quick to embrace the challenges and charged the education sector to turn the tide.
“We will now have to fight and try to plug those holes so that all the resources we get in our budget serve the purposes of this sector,” she said. “When we mourn the fact that we have a declining budget and yet when we get a grant … we fail to utilise it, then that proves that our challenges mostly lie elsewhere.”
The mood in her maiden presentation as education minister may have been measured, but the tone appears to have struck a chord, with many officials afraid to get on her wrong side. The permanent secretary, Dr Rose Nassali-Lukwago, put the mood in words.
“Let us commit ourselves to improving the performance of the sector this year … we must teach more and [teacher and pupil] absenteeism must end,” she said.
She acknowledged a point from the Uganda National Teachers’ Union, that there was a need to find out why teachers were not motivated to teach.
“This is an area we need to consult with several stakeholders, including the ministries of Public Service and Finance to find out how to deal with the challenges. The 23rd Education and Sports sector review was conducted under the theme: Realigning school governance and management towards quality education and training outcomes.
The minister emphasised that the review was intended to direct the sector, “where we are coming from and ideally it should also inspire us on the onward journey to where we want to go”.
CHALLENGES
On school feeding, she acknowledged that there had been a general disconnect between the ministry and parents, for which she called for a nationwide awareness campaign.
The campaign would, “educate parents on responsibility to feeding their children as the Education Act 2008 demands”.
The minister added that while the government had met its phased salary increment, teachers now had to justify any more increases, “by desisting from absenteeism, late reporting, early departure from work as ministry focuses on improving governance and management of schools.”
SECONDARY
Janet Museveni also revealed that the ministry would introduce a continuous assessment system as part of the examination at secondary level. This was intended to mitigate the excessive levels of examination malpractices.
Under secondary level, the focus has also been shifted to recruitment of science teachers in the medium term starting FY 2017/18.
TEACHER EDUCATION
The minister added that she would oversee the process of developing a National Teacher Policy to guide entry into the teaching profession, recruitment, training, continuous professional development and teacher code of conduct.
A programme to rehabilitate and expand all the five national teachers colleges has also started. A similar programme will be started for primary teachers colleges (PTCs), while tutors there will be motivated with awards, targeted at the best-performing institution.
HIGHER EDUCATION AND BTVET
Special attention will also be paid to address technician-level skills gaps in the economy and skilling school leavers, graduates and unemployed youths. To date, 90 districts have at least a Business, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) institution. However, there are plans to implement the policy of constructing an institution in all the districts by 2021.
The sector will also amend the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act 2001 towards, among others, providing way for Makerere University Business School (Mubs) to become an independent degree-awarding institution.
In closing the final session, the state minister for Primary Education, Rosemary Senninde, urged ministry officials to include more district leaders, inspectors and community leaders in future sector reviews. Most of these had been absent.
Title: The Hearts of Darkness: How White Writers Created the Racist Image of Africa Reviewed by: Kathryn Barrett-Gaines Author: Milton Allimadi. Publisher: Mativile publishers. Number of pages: 87 Year of publication: 2016
I’m not alone in being tired of white people telling us about Africa.
In his delightfully-written brief book, Milton Allimadi does more than tire of it. In The Hearts of Darkness: How White Writers Created the Racist Image of Africa, Allimadi mines a deep deposit of racist practitioners in the archives of the New York Times, Time magazine, and National Geographic magazine.
The author, Milton Allimadi, discusses his book recently
His conversations with retired editors and reporters from these publications reveal Allimadi as a researcher activist. Allimadi rereads through centuries to find specific evidence of white people, in and out of Africa, deciding that black lives do not matter.
The book is a critique of the Western media’s “tribalization” of African news coverage, beginning with the accounts of the European so-called explorers who went to “discover” Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The author also examines the coverage of Africa by various newspapers, including The New York Times, from the 19th century to date. Many people will see the roots of their own racism in these writings.
Racism against Africans is the root of racism against African Americans. The only cure for racism is knowledge and this is why my students will read Hearts of Darkness in my History of Africa course this semester.
The author, also a son of former Prime Minister Otema Alimadi, recently discussed his book with researchers at the University of Maryland.
Allimadi describes publishers as being afraid of his book, for uncovering layer upon layer of racist thinking by editors and writers in England and the USA.
Anti-racism is as good a reason as any to consider African history from African perspectives. Read African authors, and start with Milton Allimadi. The book is available online at Amazon at $20 (about Shs 67,400).
Dr Kathryn Barrett-Gaines is an associate professor of African and African American History at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.
Directorate of Industrial Training director Ethel Kyobe
National Water and Sewerage Corporation's (NWSC) vocational training facility is set to pass out its first trainees on a special programme aimed at helping informal employees acquire qualification papers, writes MOSES MUGALU.
Matia Mutegerera joined National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) 25 years ago as a porter plumber, after dropping out of school. While learning on the job, he has become one of the most experienced plumbers in the water utility, over the years.
However, until recently he had no formal proof of the skills acquired, making it difficult to transfer them elsewhere and earn a living. But NWSC’s Ggaba Vocational Skills Training facility which has started a three-month special training programme could change Mutegerera’s fortunes for the better soon.
Here, he is one of the 28 plumbers and two welders working with the ministry of education’s Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) to acquire what are known as non-formal qualifications in their respective fields.
According to DIT’s director, Ethel Kyobe, Mutegerera and his colleagues will graduate in December after being examined on practical and technical competences. Kyobe, who visited the training facility last week, explained that successful candidates would be issued with a Worker’s PAS, a special certificate equivalent to an advanced diploma in those fields.
Kyobe said they have accredited NWSC to offer such practical training at its facility in a bid to re-tool informal workers whose skills could come in handy for government’s ambition of having a skilled labour force to drive the country into middle income status by 2020.
She noted that while Mutegerera had informally acquired skills, he needs papers to validate his qualification as a plumber in any case he seeks employment elsewhere in the water sector.
Since most of the targeted workers are not highly-educated, Kyobe said DIT developed user-friendly training manuals that can be understood without any language barriers.
Dr Martin Kalibbala, NWSC training and capacity development manager, says another batch of 60 workers will be enrolled on the programme in October as the utility continues to horn its employees’ skills to deliver better services.
He said training workers is part of NWSC’s five-year strategic direction through which the corporation has committed to providing 100% access to clean water in the country.
He also disclosed that after getting nod from the ministry, NWSC has embarked on constructing a fully-fledged technical school at Kachung in Lira district. Once completed, the school is expected to boost NWSC’s capacity to admit trainees from other institutions and the general public.
Kyambogo University’s acting vice chancellor Prof Eli-Katunguka-Rwakishaya has challenged researchers to have realistic budgets while presenting their proposals.
Speaking at the second annual Eastern African Research and Innovations Management Association (EARIMA) conference last week, Katunguka said many research proposals are turned down by grant-givers due to exorbitant costs posted.
“When you write a research proposal, it must show the funders that your research adds value to their organisation with realistic costs,” Katunguka said. “[But] once you inflate costs for issues like transport, per diem and salaries of people who are already in employment, you risk losing out on the grant.”
Katunguka, also the president of EARIMA, added that he has regularly rejects proposals for researchers who largely focus on allowances and unending meetings and travels. He cited impediments to research like inadequate funds, lack of capacity to write convincing proposals and queries in accountability of individuals and institutions.
The four-day conference held at Grand Global hotel in Makerere-Kikoni last week, was aimed at building the capacity of researchers under the theme; Promoting Sustainable Development Goals through research and innovation.
Katunguka said the theme was deemed appropriate so as to support the global agenda with credible research findings and appropriate innovations. Hajjat Bakia Wamala Kezaala, the head department of Management Science at Kyambogo University, also cautioned fellow researchers on inflating costs.
“These people who give grants have got limits because the money is got from their taxpayers but many researchers think this is free money. By the way, the costs we inflate are known because funders conduct market surveys before approving the proposals,” Kezaala said.
Researchers from higher institutions of learning, research firms and the private sector discussed the full cycle of research project management including research planning, sourcing for funds, research risks, managing projects, exploitation of research finding and Intellectual Property.
Participants expressed concern over scientists with poor communication skills for their projects, yet the end result for research must be commercialization. Kezaala said scientists need to enroll for humanity courses like marketing and entrepreneurship in order to market their innovations.
“They [scientists] should also stop to think for the consumers but come to the market and seek people’s views before any inventions. Scientists have very interesting innovations but they are lying idle in their book shelves,” she said.
This year, the EARIMA conference was held in Kampala after the lead convener fell ill. It had been planned to be held in Nairobi. Researchers were drawn from countries such as Uganda, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Somalia and Rwanda.
Last week, academic staff at Makerere University found themselves in a dilemma. Initially, some elected to go with the decision of the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (Muasa) management, calling for a strike over unpaid allowances.
They initially insisted that they would only teach from 8am to 5pm on weekdays, since they had not been paid an allowance for conducting evening and weekend classes for six months. The money is said to be worth about Shs 15bn.
Before the decision was reached, the Muasa management had met with the university administration over the matter. In reply, the vice chancellor, Prof John Ddumba-Ssentamu, called for time.
“Currently the university has no money. We are waiting for government to help us. We can’t have money and refuse to pay,” Prof Ddumba-Ssentamu pleaded. “Even the number of students on evening programme has reduced.”
Prof Ddumba-Ssentamu added that lecturers ought to be patient since they had just received a salary enhancement. But the Muasa chairman, Dr Muhammad Kiggundu, was uncompromising.
“We are not here to offer our services for free,” Dr Kiggundu told a press conference, hurriedly convened at the university guesthouse, hours later.
Muasa chairman Dr Muhammad Kiggundu (R) consults his secretary general Louis Kakinda
Some of the colleges ignored the strike and continued teaching while others observed the industrial action. Several discussions later, Dr Kiggundu called another press conference on Thursday to deliver a new ultimatum.
“Muasa are ready to resume full services to their students but on condition that between now and October 21, 2016, all negotiations to restore incentives to a level acceptable to academic staff should have ended and all reports promised submitted and discussed,” he said.
However, there was a clincher in the agreement. According to Muasa spokesperson, Dr Deus Kamunyu, there was also a demand that their incentive arrears must be paid before the end of this month, before their incentives are restored to 100 per cent. Those allowances were recently reduced to 75 per cent, by the university council on the grounds that the institution was in a financial crisis.
Dr Kiggundu then added: “Staff this month have resolved that if issues regarding their incentives are not dealt with within this time frame, come October 21, 2016, all services to students will be put to a halt”.
RUBBLE ROUSER
Since his appointment two and a half years ago, Kiggundu has been hard to figure out. Although he lacks the charisma of his predecessor, Dr Fred Tanga Odoi, who could turn a fairly civil situation into a crisis, on the fly, Dr Kiggundu is reputed to be more stubborn.
He seems to prefer to act rather than talk loudly. Consequently, the university has had to deal with four staff strikes, this year alone. Dr Tanga Odoi averaged two a year in his time.
Previous firebrand Muasa chairmen have often seen their time at Makerere shortened with positions elsewhere. Before Tanga Odoi, Dr Augustus Niwagaba and Dr Abel Rwendeire were lured out of Makerere.
Rwendeire even scooped a ministerial position, while Niwagaba has won several lucrative international consultancies, if only to stop him returning to Makerere to rouse the rubble. Only time will tell, if the language expert in Dr Kiggundu will follow suit.
Following the recent release of the outstanding primary and secondary schools, the ministry of education has explained the criteria of selecting the schools.
In an interview with The observer last week, the principal inspector at the directorate of Education Standards (DES), Frances Atima, said the list was generated from research done in partnership with UK-based Ark International.
In 2015, the ministry sampled over 1,000 pupils in 300 primary schools from which, only 134 schools emerged best. At secondary level, where 100 schools were selected, Atima said they looked at the school’s entry cutoff points if they corresponded with the students’ final results at O-level.
“For example, if a school admitted only students with aggregate 18 at primary seven, we expected the average result of the student at S4 to be 40. But if the student got 45, then we concluded that something was done for this student to maintain their result,” Atima said, adding that the same criteria was applied to schools that admitted students with 4s or 5s and above.
For the best primary school, Atima said only government schools were awarded to motivate the head teachers and teachers running the schools.
“These schools have a lot of quality challenges and recognizing the operators will inspire other schools to perform better,” she said.
At every education sector review, government has consistently been recognizing outstanding primary schools but this year, they decided to do the same for both private and government secondary schools.
For the future, Atima said they will also award the best teacher training institutions, business technical and vocational Institutions and universities.
“We are moving systematically because the issue of recognition is very sensitive,” she said. “You must come up with a criterion that will not be widely-criticised but understood by education stakeholders.”
IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS
Of late, DES has been monitoring learning achievements with the help of district local governments. Atima said students are sampled with tests that are marked at the district level in order to check their expected achievement over a given period of time.
However, she said, in-depth analysis of students is still lacking due to inadequate funds to carryout out inspections in schools.
“When an inspector goes to a school, they will only pick out a few issues to discuss with teachers shortly without concentrating on the learners’ performance,” she said.
She added that the new methodology of recognizing value addition to a learner, which has been adopted internationally, will enable them monitor students’ performance.
Out of the 100 best secondary schools, the renowned ‘giant’ schools at Uneb were not recognised and a few are private. This, Atima explained that, what the public perceives as the most performing schools have concentrated on improving grades instead of adding value to their student’s performance.
“These big schools are now dancing to what the community wants them to be. They concentrate on getting the 4s, 5s, 8 in 8 and 20 points at A-level,” Atima said. “Such school does not qualify to be the best school according to our new criterion.”
She added that proprietors of most private schools are now concentrating on enrolling more students in their schools based on grades.
“Even our traditional schools if they don’t toe that line, the public will blame them for not performing. Schools are subjected to pressure yet this disadvantages the slow learners to perform well,” Atima said.
With the list having less ‘high-flying’ schools, Atima said the ‘small schools’ have abandoned competition and concentrated on adding value to their learners, a reason why they were recognised this year.
