–Transforming Mukono Boarding Primary School from The Least Desirable to the Most Admired Schools
Despite the cropping up of private schools with a competitive academic record in the country, traditional education-power schools like Namilyango and Buddo Junior Schools have retained their legacy of steady academic excellence for decades.
Though, joining such traditional schools has remained hard for learners from poor backgrounds.
But, thanks to Suzan Wamala Sserunkuuma, who is currently one of the most esteemed educationists in Mukono district, for introducing similar education standards to Mukono Boarding Primary School (UPE) at almost no cost.
The Insight Post-Uganda is looking at her journey and contribution to the education sector in the country by delving into the policies and strategies she used to transform education standards.
Joining Mukono UPE School
Wamala joined Mukono Boarding Primary School as the Head Teacher in 2006 from St. Theresa-Namagunga boarding girl’s primary school where she served as a class teacher for Primary Four (P.4) to Primary Six (P.6). She also headed English department as well as Music, Dance, and Drama-MDD.
She reveals joining an environment consisting of people more like those in the Prisoner Of War (PoW) camp. None of the pupils was putting on shoes and a few with school uniforms were torn. Precisely, the pupils’ condition was enough to describe the level of poverty in their respective households.
The teachers, too, were not doing so well in terms of self-rehabilitation since they appeared for duty with desperate, pale faces and bodies and no jewelry. “Both the learners and teachers were hopeless and so comfortable in the worst school environment. So this had to change,” Wamala reveals.
Still, some wore shoes with worn-out soles while it was uncommon for the majority of staff to change clothes in the course of the week.
At some point, the pupils would easily identify their teachers by their clothes. Indeed, poverty would reek from the pupils’ and teachers’ skin.
“It was hard for me to adapt to the situation by then, but everywhere on earth, it is hard to find a rose without a thorn. I joined with different thoughts about Universal Primary Education-UPE schools. My first task was transforming the mentality of the staff and community I had joined,” Suzan Wamala recalls.
Started with reminding teachers to continually remind pupils to maintain their hygiene by combing their hair, smearing their bodies with jelly, and wearing uniforms, and shoes.
“I initiated internal seminars and refresher courses on lesson plans, besides meeting individual departmental heads and teachers. Talking to each of them could help me assess their conduct, dress code and personal hygiene, and their strength and weaknesses. At first, they got so mad but they appreciated it in due course,” she recounts.
Pupils require the acquisition of knowledge through study, experience, and as well being taught. A lot of things that were absent in school started forming gradually.
The head teacher introduced the ‘Writers Club’ to improve the pupils’ writing and reading skills. Fast forward to this day, the school established a modern computer laboratory and teachers’ lounge yet the learning environment has improved the education standard in the school.
Nonetheless, teachers at school by then also had good tactics to motivate learners study. They had a nice marking style of circling the wrong answer other than crossing them.
“I was thrilled to bits learning from my staff that a more appropriate marking style is to circle the wrong answer rather than crossing it because it discourages learners,” she says.
Still, the teachers had a modern way of grading pupils. “We no longer give the learners reports with positions, but reports containing only aggregates. However, the results are covered in separate papers and retained for administrative assessment, a style they had already adopted” Wamala notes.
Teachers Speak
Damalie Nampeera, one of the teachers at Mukono Boarding School, says posting Wamala to Mukono boarding was spot-on by the diocese. She indeed became a serious wave of change that hit and cleared away laziness and low self-esteem of teachers and pupils.
“Among the many initiatives she established, was a savings scheme that has helped several teachers adopt proper standards of living and uphold them. Learn how to save from the little they earn but all borrow to invest in personal development ventures,” Nampeera notes.
Mukono Boarding School has a staff of 38 teachers attending different classes and kindergarten. At least every Wednesday, the teachers save Ugx20, 000 which has helped them to develop themselves.
According to Hussein Katende, another teacher, each teacher receives a token of appreciation from the school facilitation grant. And the Primary Seven (P.7) teachers, are given an extra bonus of Ugx20, 000 for every distinction received in Primary Leaving Examination-PLE, something which has boosted their morale.
“Teachers who barely receive any distinction are given an empty envelope to remind them to work hard next time,” he says.
The school maintained the decision to operate only the boarding section in 2021 after the outbreak of covid-19. The decision was taken following the government’s instruction to all schools in the country to operate either as day or boarding to control the spread of covid-19.
At the time of the transition from the day to only boarding, the school population fell from 1315 to about 500 pupils, which shocked the administration. But currently, the numbers have again increased to 800 and we expect more to return or join the school.
The school has different uniforms for each class for easy identification, monitoring, and management. This further encourages hard work among learners who strive to get promoted to the next class to change their uniforms.
The Insight Post has established the school prioritizes social values through ‘Family Initiative Day’ where the schoolteachers share with learners about different values such as laying bed, table manners, and public standards of living.
Through the same initiative, pupils are allowed to assess teachers on their conduct and performance.
Joseph Kasule, a parent and trader appreciates the fact that the children learn social values and life skills, an effort worth commending. The children have been taught discipline and proper waste disposal.
“They do not litter in public and they are ambassadors who monitor or keep watch over their community for proper waste disposal,” Kasule explains.
District Leaders
Fatumah Nabitaka Ndisaba, the Resident District Commissioner for Mukono, cannot discredit Suzan Wamala’s tireless effort to transform the school. “She presented good administrative and leadership skills,” she stressed.
According to Ndisaba, Wamala is a competent woman and there’s a lot to learn from her school for the great transformation.
“I have actually requested the Chief Administrative Officer-CAO and the Town Clerk to bring competent head teachers from different parts of the district to benchmark from Mukono boarding because there is a lot to learn,” says the RDC.
Who is Suzan Wamala?
She is the daughter of Rebecca Wamala wife to the Late. musician Elly Wamala. She got married to James Sserunkuuma on December 16, 1995.
She studied her Primary one at St. Theresa, Namagunga before joining Kampala Parents as one of the pioneer learners, studied her secondary education at Trinity Collage Nabbingo before joining Kibuli Teachers’ Collage for a Grade III Certificate and Kaliro National Teachers’ College for a Diploma. Later, she joined Makerere University for a bachelor’s in education-BED.
She is grateful to her primary school teachers; Gladys Wambuzi and Edward Kasole who inspired her to love teaching, but above all, her family is the center of her successful carrier.
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