Mukono LC5, church in row over schools

Apr 07, 2007

A ROW has erupted between the Anglican Church and Mukono district authorities over the transfer of heads of church-founded schools.

By Nicholas Kajoba

A ROW has erupted between the Anglican Church and Mukono district authorities over the transfer of heads of church-founded schools.

Diocese Bishop Paul Luzinda on Thursday revealed that he had asked the Minister of Education, Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire, to intervene.

“I met the minister last week and presented the churches’ dissatisfaction about the interference of the district LC5 chairman, Francis Lukooya, in the transfer of head teachers,” he said.

Luzinda lamented that the headmaster of Bishops East Primary School, Fred Ssenoga, had been transferred to Naminya yet the church still needed his services.

Ssenoga is meant to be replaced by a Muslim, Nakku, of Namaliri Primary School.

“Ssenoga has developed the school and he has already asked the church to be retired in December because he does not feel well. But we were shocked when Lukooya could not listen to the church and enforced his transfer,” Luzinda said.

Other headmasters affected include Rev. Wilson Galimaka of Nkoyoyo Boarding School Matale and Solomon Nsubuga.

The bishop said Lukooya transferred the headmasters of the church-founded schools without their consent.

“Although we get some funds from the Government, Lukooya should have called us for a meeting before making the changes because the church owns these schools,” Luzinda asserted.

Luzinda vowed that the church would not allow political leaders to antagonise their schools.

“We cannot allow district political leaders to divide the church and district. We have always worked together for all those years,” he said.

But Lukooya said the district council passed last month resolved to transfer the teachers to improve the performance of the pupil.

He alleged that some head teachers had overstayed in schools, while others had failed to improve the academic standards.

“A school like Nkoyoyo boarding used to have over 100 pupils passing in division one, but now they get only 20 and the population is now low,” he said.

Lukooya insisted that the district had the mandate to manage church-founded schools because they are partially funded by the Central Government.

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