Unsung heroes: New Vision names star teachers

Dec 01, 2010

NORAH Tebaweesa, Olivia Muhumuza and Anthony Oluka, have emerged winners in the Teachers Making a Difference Award.

By Anthony Olwoch

NORAH Tebaweesa, Olivia Muhumuza and Anthony Oluka, have emerged winners in the Teachers Making a Difference Award.

The award, the brainchild of New Vision, seeks to recognise teachers and caretakers at the nursery, primary and secondary levels of education who have made remarkable contributions to the education sector and the communities they live in.

The winners in each category will walk away with a cash prize of sh1m. The runners up will each get a cash prize of sh750, 000 while those in third position will get sh500,000 each.

The project that kicked off in August will climax into a prize-giving ceremony on December 9.

The beginning
In early August, New Vision, through all its platforms (sister papers, TVs and radio stations) called on the public to nominate teachers in their localities who they believed were making great contributions in educating the children of Uganda.

In the four months of the project, more than 100 entries were received from the public. New Vision sent journalists to each of the nominated teachers for verification and stories of what the teachers were doing were published.

On Friday 26, a panel of education experts sat at the New Vision head office in Industrial Area and selected 12 winners in all the categories, nine of whom will receive cash prizes while the rest will get certificates of recognition.

The panel consisted of Dr. Katigo Kaheru, the dean of the faculty of education at Kyambogo University; Margaret Rwabushaija, the Uganda National Teachers Union chairperson; Connie Kateeba, the director, National Curriculum Development Centre; Huzaifa Mutazindwa, the director, Education Standards at the education ministry and Daniel Ndagga, the municipal inspector of schools, Entebbe.

Mutazindwa lauded the New Vision for spearheading the initiative which he said complements the Government’s efforts in improving education standards. He said the teacher is critical because he or she is the source of knowledge or facilitator of learning, especially in pre-primary and primary schools.

“In a country where we are resource constrained, it is hard to recognise teachers.

“The ministry appreciates the media’s role in recognising and motivating teachers. We believe this is a worthy cause if we are to create an education environment that will propel our nation to greater heights,” Huzaifa noted.

Barbara Kaija, New Vision’s editor-in-chief, said the objective of the award was to engage the community in acknowledging the teachers’ great contributions, which often go unrecognised.

Why they won
  • Norah Tebaweesa, Nursery School category winner, was recognised for her efforts in educating underprivileged children in the slums of Mulago. Many children in this slum area were not going to school because of poverty. They roamed and played naked in filth and ate food not fit for human consumption.


  • She set up Merryland Kindergarten in the area and charged a small fee that the parents could afford. For the parents who do not afford the fee, she negotiates with them basing on their level of income. The judges were impressed about the fact that despite the growth of her school, Tebaweesa did not move the school to a more decent environment. She remained in the slums to make a difference in the lives of the slum children who would never have had a chance to go to school.

  • Anthony Oluka, the Secondary School category winner was recognised for his ability to support government policies and pilot the e-learning programme in eastern Uganda. Even after the Government funding ended, he did not give up but continued with the programme and even encouraged other schools and teachers in the region to embrace it.


  • Though he was taken for a refresher course, he did not abandon his responsibility to the school and community to look for greener pastures. He worked hard for the development of education in Serere S.S and the community at large.

  • Olivia Muhumuza, Primary School category
    Muhumuza was recognised for her soft spot for the despised and homeless children on the streets of Kampala. She reached out to the children who were begging on the streets and convinced them to attend school.


  • Not only did they attend, but she also paid for them school fees, bought them scholastic material and uniform, fed them and convinced them to continue attending school, despite the fact that they are staying on the streets. A number of the children she got from the streets completed primary and are now in secondary school.

  • Betty Banyenzaki, a teacher at Kampala Happitots, was the runner up in the nursery category. Banyenzaki has been teaching for 41 years, just for the love of children. Even during Idd Amin’s regime when the going got tough and many people quit the profession for greener pastures, Bayenzaki persisted just for the love of children.


  • Anna Mbyasa Sserwanga of Ann Infant Care School on Entebbe Road took came third in this category.

    Joan Nyakaana of Rainbow Miracle Nursery and Primary, Entebbe, emerged runner up in the Primary category. Stephen Kakhoosi, a special needs teacher at Shimoni Primary School came third.

    In the Secondary category, Hajji Ali Mugaga Kasule of Gombe SS was the second in the secondary school category. He was recognised for his superb performance both in academics and co-curricular activities which has seen his school shine over the years. Christopher Okumu of Masaba College School, Busia district emerged third for his innovativeness which enabled him to use locally materials available as teaching tools.

    Teachers making a difference 2010 Winners

    Nursery Category


    Winner-Norah Tebaweesa – Merryland Kindergarten, Mulago Kampala

    2nd - Betty Banyenzaki –Kampala Happitots Kindergarten, Kampala

    3rd - Anna Mbyasa Sserwanga-Ann Infant Care School, Entebbe Road

    Primary Category

    Winner- Olivia Muhumuza, Railway Primary School, Kampala

    2nd -Joan Nyakaana –Rainbow Miracle Infant Nursery and Primary School, Entebbe

    3rd –Stephen Kakhoosi, Shimoni Demonstration School

    Secondary Category

    Winner- Anthony Oluka, Serere Secondary School, Serere district

    2nd – Hajji Ali Mugaga Kasule, Gombe Secondary School

    3rd – Christopher Okumu, Masaba College School, Busia District








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