Headteachers get leadership skills
Aug 10, 2003
BROTHER Edward Bukenya, the head teacher of St. Mary’s College, Kisubi, was recently in the UK with 11 other colleagues for leadership training
By Joan Mugenzi
BROTHER Edward Bukenya, the head teacher of St. Mary’s College, Kisubi, was recently in the UK with 11 other colleagues for leadership training.
The British Council funded the training that was conducted by the National College for School Leadership.
In the one week that he was in Britain, Bukenya got placed at Windsor Boys’ School for one and a half days.
“That school was just like St. Mary’s,†he told Education Vision, at a dissemination workshop for head teachers at Hotel Africana, last week.
“Interestingly enough, it was started in 1908, two years after St. Mary’s was in place,†he said.
The idea of placing Bukenya and his colleagues in different schools was to see how schools in the UK are run. Bukenya is a better head teacher.
“I have to involve the heads of department and teachers in planning,†he said. “As I speak now, when I came back, I talked to the heads of departments, Director of Studies, Dean of students and I advised them about the need to plan up to the nitty gritty of things.â€
“What impressed me most was the strategic planning and operational planning in the school. Looking at a school, which has a five-year strategic plan for the individual plans in the school is impressive. They foresee what to achieve in the next two years. Nothing takes them by surprise,†said Bukenya.
The team of 12 comprised of 10 teachers, an official from Kampala City Council and another from the Ministry of Education. The 10 teachers were selected out of a group of 30 teachers when they presented the most impressive action plans about what they wanted to do for their schools.
Other members on the team were Rose Izizinga from Makerere College School, Regina Laboke (Our Lady of Good Counsel, Gayaza), Aisha Lubega (Nabisunsa), Victoria Kisalale (Gayaza High School), Godfrey Njagala (Makerere High School), Olive Kyoheire (Luzira Secondary School), Sarah Birungi (Mengo SSS), J.C. Muyingo (Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo), Elizabeth Odyek (St. Kizito, Bugolobi), Charles Masaba (KCC) and Alfred Kyaka from the education ministry.
The idea of this training goes back to the time when private schools, together with Kampala City Council approached British Council, so that they could train the Boards of Governors in the different schools.
Such training comes at a time when the Government is now discussing Universal Secondary Education.
Izizinga’s presentation was titled Building Leadership Capacity in Ugandan Secondary Schools. It showed that the number of government aided secondary schools rose from 621 in 1997 to 731 in 2002. That of privately run secondary schools rose from 124 in 1997 to 1,497 in 2002. Enrolment in schools has also shot up.
The fear now is about the numbers from Universal Primary Education (UPE) joining secondary schools, yet there are no experienced teachers to run the schools.
Dr. Richard Akankwasa, the director of education, says there is need for the effective use of the few opportunities.
“The complex nature of the education terrain creates a situation that some of the private schools may have the inexperienced teachers as heads much as some government schools have them,†he says.
“That is a start for them. There is no place where they train ministers, but you learn along the way. Such inexperienced teachers are the ones who will become seasoned head teachers,†argues Akankwasa.
“We believe that the exposure given to the few head teachers can have a multiplier effect because training opportunities target a few,†he says.
Margaret Wanjiku, head of programmes, British Council, Kampala, reflects Akankwasa’s idea.
“Although it is British Council that initiated the training program, we want to ensure that we have a very firm partnership,†she said.
BROTHER Edward Bukenya, the head teacher of St. Mary’s College, Kisubi, was recently in the UK with 11 other colleagues for leadership training.
The British Council funded the training that was conducted by the National College for School Leadership.
In the one week that he was in Britain, Bukenya got placed at Windsor Boys’ School for one and a half days.
“That school was just like St. Mary’s,†he told Education Vision, at a dissemination workshop for head teachers at Hotel Africana, last week.
“Interestingly enough, it was started in 1908, two years after St. Mary’s was in place,†he said.
The idea of placing Bukenya and his colleagues in different schools was to see how schools in the UK are run. Bukenya is a better head teacher.
“I have to involve the heads of department and teachers in planning,†he said. “As I speak now, when I came back, I talked to the heads of departments, Director of Studies, Dean of students and I advised them about the need to plan up to the nitty gritty of things.â€
“What impressed me most was the strategic planning and operational planning in the school. Looking at a school, which has a five-year strategic plan for the individual plans in the school is impressive. They foresee what to achieve in the next two years. Nothing takes them by surprise,†said Bukenya.
The team of 12 comprised of 10 teachers, an official from Kampala City Council and another from the Ministry of Education. The 10 teachers were selected out of a group of 30 teachers when they presented the most impressive action plans about what they wanted to do for their schools.
Other members on the team were Rose Izizinga from Makerere College School, Regina Laboke (Our Lady of Good Counsel, Gayaza), Aisha Lubega (Nabisunsa), Victoria Kisalale (Gayaza High School), Godfrey Njagala (Makerere High School), Olive Kyoheire (Luzira Secondary School), Sarah Birungi (Mengo SSS), J.C. Muyingo (Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo), Elizabeth Odyek (St. Kizito, Bugolobi), Charles Masaba (KCC) and Alfred Kyaka from the education ministry.
The idea of this training goes back to the time when private schools, together with Kampala City Council approached British Council, so that they could train the Boards of Governors in the different schools.
Such training comes at a time when the Government is now discussing Universal Secondary Education.
Izizinga’s presentation was titled Building Leadership Capacity in Ugandan Secondary Schools. It showed that the number of government aided secondary schools rose from 621 in 1997 to 731 in 2002. That of privately run secondary schools rose from 124 in 1997 to 1,497 in 2002. Enrolment in schools has also shot up.
The fear now is about the numbers from Universal Primary Education (UPE) joining secondary schools, yet there are no experienced teachers to run the schools.
Dr. Richard Akankwasa, the director of education, says there is need for the effective use of the few opportunities.
“The complex nature of the education terrain creates a situation that some of the private schools may have the inexperienced teachers as heads much as some government schools have them,†he says.
“That is a start for them. There is no place where they train ministers, but you learn along the way. Such inexperienced teachers are the ones who will become seasoned head teachers,†argues Akankwasa.
“We believe that the exposure given to the few head teachers can have a multiplier effect because training opportunities target a few,†he says.
Margaret Wanjiku, head of programmes, British Council, Kampala, reflects Akankwasa’s idea.
“Although it is British Council that initiated the training program, we want to ensure that we have a very firm partnership,†she said.