Whatever Kamulegeya touches turns to gold

TEACHERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE 

In 2016, Muhammed Kamulegeya was sent from Entebbe Comprehensive SS to Kibuli SS as a substantive deputy headteacher.

 

Hardly two years later Kamulegeya found himself as the acting headteacher of the Muslim-founded school following a crisis that saw the interdiction of the then headteacher Hajj Ali Muggaga.

 

Following claims that Muggaga was abusing his female students, an investigation was initiated by the education and sports ministry in 2017.

 

 

 

In early 2018, the ministry recommended criminal prosecution against Muggaga after the report of the investigation implicated him in allegedly sexually abusing his female students.

 

The education ministry referred the matter to the police for further investigation and possible prosecution. The report also proposed he gets interdicted, which was done right away in March 2018.

 

 After weathering and calming the storm at Kibuli SS, Kamulegeya early this year found himself on the move, on promotion, to head Kakira High School in Eastern Uganda.

 

Hajj Muhammad Lwoga, a member of Kibuli school board says, Kamulegeya helped take the school through a storm, re-assembled the staff, rebuilt its image and gave it a safe sense of direction.

 

 

 

"He managed to keep the school's performance high- among the country's top 60 best performing schools, improved its infrastructure with new public toilets, competing the girls' dormitory, staff room, and head teachers, on top of paying off squatters on the school land," Lwoga explains. Some squatters had hijacked a chunk of land, for the road leading to the school's gate.

 

Lwoga adds, "Kamulegeya was a great leader and he helped us improve the school's academics and infrastructure. He is a hardworking young man. He had modernized the school."

 

 

Even before Kibuli SS, Kamulegeya already had a good legacy at Entebbe Comprehensive SS. 

 

At Entebbe Comprehensive SS, he found its land raided by encroachers and students studying in crowded classes and in trade shades.

 

Hajjat Waluya Nalweyiso, who was at the time the chairperson of the board at Entebbe Comprehensive SS, says, "Kamulegeya is a hardworking young man. He helped supervise several infrastructural projects at the schools, and also helped the school become more active in sports activities."

 

 

 

She explains that Kamulegeya also managed to follow up with the eviction of 15 squatters on the school's 13 acres of land. "Counting on his legal and administrative expertise; since he is a lawyer, he followed up the matter and also secured sh1bn from Government to compensate them," she explains.

 

Micheal Mugume, who was then a member of the parents and teachers' association at Entebbe Comprehensive SS also says, "Kamulegeya was a very hard working man and did a lot to improve the school's performance."

 

Mugume adds that Kamulegeya was instrumental in helping the headteacher mobilise for resources to set up a new building.

 

Mugume explains, ‘With the support of the ministry officials, he helped implement the sh500m African Development bank project, in which he helped supervise the construction of a 13 classroom-block, accommodating 1,000; of the 1,500 pupils in the school at the time."

 

He adds, "Kamulegeya, during his tenure, was assigned by the head teacher to set up dormitories for boys and girls, as a way of ensuring that students concentrate at school,"

 

By the time he was transferred, school records show that it had at least 80% of its students passing with two principal passes at A' level joining public universities, on private and Government scholarship, up from a dismissal 40% then.

 

At O'level at least 60% were passing in Division One, up from about 35% at the time he joined the school.

 

Deogratious Ssekyole the former Municipal Education Officer for Entebbe Municipality then, also says that Kamulegeya helped the administration to fence off 13 acres of land, set up a students' hostel, build more classrooms and a playground and to put up a teachers' canteen to boost their welfare.

 

Ssekyole says at the time he Kamulegeya was at Entebbe Comprehensive he worked well with the headteacher. Ssekyole is now the district education officer for Mpigi.

 

Before joining Entebbe Comprehensive SS, Kamulegeya had had a stint of good academic performance of his students at Nabisunsa Girls School; where he was teaching economics and history. 

 

While at Nabisunsa Girls School, Aisha Lubega, who was then the head teacher says, "Kamulegeya was a hardworking teacher. He was committed to his job and it shows wherever he goes."

 

She says that his students would always excel, with a good number of them passing with distinctions and credits.

 

Kamulegeya is now at his new station at Kakira High and is already transforming the school.

 

Joseph Muhairwe, Chairman Board of Governors for Kakira High Schools says Kamulegeya has come with a new management style and is an effective man. "He listens, knows when to take action and knows what he is doing. With just half a year, he has managed to utilise about sh150m from the school's and parents' contribution to renovate an incomplete new administrative block."

 

Muhairwe also notes that Kamulegeya has also built extra offices for the staff members with administrative roles, and a multi-purpose shade to be used for meetings and shade for the school bus. A students' hostel, a kitchen, a conference room, a food store, and better water-borne toilets are all in offing.

 

Kamulegeya says, "I want to work with parents, teachers and the board members, to make this school the best model USE school in the country," he says.

 

He also wants to improve the schools' academic performance and their prowess in sports.

 

 Last year, it was the 400th in the country and he says, he needs to get it among the top 100 schools in a few years' time.

 

 

He started off his career in 2002 to 2006 as a History and Economics teacher at Kasana Vocational SS, Mukono. In 2006, he worked as a teaching assistant Central at Buganda University. He later moved on and joined Baale SS as a teacher of Economics and History from 2007 to 2008.

 

In the same year in 2008, till 2012, he was teaching at Nabisunsa Girls School before being promoted to be a Caretaker Deputy Headteacher at Wakatayi SS in 2013.

 

He was later transferred in 2014 as a Caretaker Deputy Entebbe Comprehensive SS; where he served till 2015. 

 

In 2016 to 2017 Kamulegeya was working as a substantive deputy headteacher Kibuli SS, before being made an acting headteacher at Kibuli SS in 2018. The following year, in 2019 he was promoted and transferred to Kakira High School as a substantive headteacher.

 

 

 

 

I have supervised seven headmasters in this school-Kakira High School, but have never worked with such a committed and serious man. In less than two months, Kamulegeya has finished the building.

 

 

I am impressed with the progress of this school, this year; under the stewardship of Kamulegeya. We have not been having staff quarters but the projection is that we shall have them in a short time, on top of other changes.

 

 Mary Mutete Guntese, ministry inspecting official (Representing the Permanent Secretary)

 

Kamulegeya is a good resource mobiliser in the school and I see so much competence in him. I implore all teachers and other stakeholders in Kakira High School give him all the necessary support to develop the school.

 

 

Born to Alhaji Hassan Mugerwa and Prossy Nakyanzi and raised in a staunch Muslim family in Mukono district; Kamulegeya is a professional teacher, human resource manager, and lawyer by profession.

 

 He holds a Masters' Degree in Education, Policy, and management (Kyambogo University), a bachelor's degree in Arts (Education) and one in law from the Islamic University in Uganda. He also holds an advanced diploma in Human Resource and Business Management, and a Certificate in Law from Raira University in Kenya.