Why a non-Budo OB may be suitable for Budo

________________

OPINION

By Rt. Rev. Assoc. Prof. Fred Sheldon Mwesigwa

According to the New Vision of June 2, its reporters cited a fight over Budo headmaster succession and painted a gloomy picture of the current state of the school.

If it were not for the photographs of the current headmaster, Canon Dr Kazibwe and the Bishop of Namirembe, Rt. Rev. Banja, I would have mistaken the school being talked about for another Budo, since there are some schools in the vicinity that share the name.

For starters, the current headmaster of King’s College Budo (KCB), a non-OB, might turn out to be one of the best, if not the best that the school has ever had.

Having associated with the school from the time of tracking academic performance of schools in 1990 when I was appointed deputy headteacher of Kibubura Girls SSS, having become a parent of the school in 2014, the school has during the time of Dr Kazibwe witnessed some major milestones in the academic, infrastructural, organisational ability and promotion of an Anglican Christian ethos while respecting other faiths.

Before Dr Kazibwe was transferred to KCB, he had turned around Mengo SSS, making it one of Uganda’s academic giants; with a population of about 7,000 students today.

In fact, the results of Mengo SSS would on occasions be better than those of KCB. In terms of infrastructural development, his legacy at Mengo stands. It is even known by many that he was comfortable remaining at Mengo SSS, had it not been through persuasion and/or orders from above.

According to the 2024 UACE results, King’s College Budo was the examination centre with the best results in Uganda, with 21 candidates scoring 20 points, the highest number ever recorded in the history of the school.

In the 2023 UACE results, 15 students scored maximum points; call that steady progress. Before the new UNEB grading system, I had attended Founders’ Day celebrations at KCB and witnessed Dr Kazibwe reading names of outstanding students in the UCE exams, let alone outstanding academic-oriented achievements at an international level by students and dominance in the much sought-after schools rugby trophy among other sports.

In UCE 2022, 12 students scored aggregate 8 in 8 and in UCE 2023, 21 students scored aggregate 8 in 8.

Academics aside, the infrastructural developments at KCB over the last four years have been phenomenal. With the construction of a mega Australia House block, rebuilding of Grace House, 12-classroom project, three multipurpose halls and another eight-classroom project ongoing, with several redesigned buildings, all with modern amenities, etc.

The icing on the cake has been the construction of flush toilets to replace the pit latrines.

I would argue that the increase in student numbers is being matched with increased facilities. What is wrong with more students accessing the culture, class, taste and elegance of KCB? There is a need to appreciate the fact that KCB need not romanticise some traditions and may need to borrow from some other school traditions.

A Budo OB, Stephen Kamuhanda, resuscitated Ntare School in the 1990s by going slow on its legacy of freedom to move out of school, since later generations of students were more youthful than their counterparts. Why can’t a non-Budo OB, if he is qualified, competent and a game changer, be appointed?

Sadly, towards retirement of headteachers of ‘big schools’, many enthusiastic ‘potential’ headteachers lobby church and education ministry officials to recommend them. Many of them end up even bribing the wrong people and lose millions, yet the key decision makers may be completely independent-minded.

An article of this nature that speaks in the name of concerned parents and OBs is suspect. Interested parties in some cases are frustrated parents or OBs who have been denied vacancies, others are often contractors or service providers who have been denied tenders, in some cases, disgruntled unprofessional teachers who may be transferred can be a problem and perhaps some in the community who have land-related conflicts with the school, etc.

Suffice it to say that the arguments suggesting the deterioration of academic standards and infrastructural challenges at KCB are not backed by data. Nor is the demand for a non-OB to revive the school. While some big-name schools have, over time, gone off the academic map, this has certainly not happened in the history of KCB and certainly not during Dr Kazibwe’s three years at the helm.

The writer is the Bishop of Ankole Diocese and dean of Province of COU, chancellor BSU, parent of King’s College Budo, a former deputy headteacher Ntare School and Kibubura Girls SSS, former chairman Province of COU board of education and chairman UCU Governing Council smwesigwafred@gmail.com