Alumni step in to revamp Old Kampala SSS

By FREDERICK WOMAKUYU

Awalk into the  compound of Old Kampala Senior Secondary School gives one a feeling of freshness and relief.  The compound is neat with well-trimmed lawns, and towering tress. 

 However, reality hits you as you move around the now aging structures. Some of them are as old as the school, which was founded in 1929. The school has kept repairing them with an occasional coat of paint. Some of the structures still have asbestos roofs, which were declared a health hazard by the World Health Organisation decades ago.

The deputy headmaster, George Bamwoyeraki, says they are doing all it takes to revamp the school. It needs sh2b. The school boasts of prominent old students like President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Second Deputy Prime Minister Moses Ali, former Vice-President Gilbert Bukenya, Rukiga County MP Jack Sabiti; Chief of Land Forces Lt. Gen. Katumba Wamala; former Rwanda head of defence Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa and  deputy commander of defence forces Lt. Gen. Ivan Koreta.

Bamwoyeraki, probably in his late 50s keeps flipping through his files as we talk. “We are working hard to improve the academic standards of the school,” he says.

As far as Bamwoyeraki can remember, the school used to post some of the best results in Uganda, especially in sciences.

From the 1960s to the 1970s, Old Kampala SSS often had an average of about 30 students in first grade out of over 45 at O ‘level. But between the late 1970s and 1990s, the school’s candle burned out to the extent that they would sometimes get less than 40 first grades in O’ level out of 300 students.

The beginning
Old Kampala Secondary School was started in 1929 by the British to educate the children of those Asians who could not afford tuition fees in Kenya.

According to Bamwoyeraki, the library was well-stocked, laboratory well-equipped and class sizes small. Although each classroom had over four streams, each stream had less than 45 students.
The chairman of the Old Students Association, Byakusaga Bisobye, says during their O’ level (1975 to 1980), 37 out of 45 students scored first grades.

He adds that 21 out of 30 students joined university after A’level.

He says the trick lay in the well-equipped laboratories, stocked library and motivated teachers.

Emmanuel Mukasa, the headteacher and former student of the school, says in their year, 95% of the students who sat A’ level went to university on bursaries.

Where did things go wrong?
According to Bamwoyeraki, when Idi Amin expelled the Asians, the school’s standards started declining.
“There was an influx of Africans into the school. Some of them could not speak or write English,” he explains.
He says the qualified teachers left.  “The school hired part-timers. You would find a businessman who was working in town, to teaching at the school.”

Reforms
By the 1990s, a new headteacher took charge. He started by improving the behaviour of the students through strengthening the disciplinary committee.

He also took charge of the discipline of the teachers. The school also stocked the library and equipped the laboratories.
Towards early 2000, the school had over 125 students passing in first grade in O’ level out of about 200.

Challenges
The director of studies, David Tukwesiga, says in 2010, the school had 55 in first grades at O’ level and  over 27 student joined the university on Government sponsorship.
He adds that the attitude of students towards sciences is still poor. Catherine Mulyowa, an old student, says the students spend more time on Facebook and the Internet.

What the school is doing to address the problem
The school has constructed a three storey building – with six classrooms for A'level students, six classrooms for O'level students and a library to accommodate over 300 students.
The old students have pledged to construct a storeyed complex to house a discussion and seminar hall.

Old students speak out
Rukiga MP – Jack Sabiiti
During our time, Old Kampala had committed teachers. We had well equipped laboratories and a library.
The school was one of the first to be managed by the Government.
It recruited some of the best teachers and students across the country. 
The school excelled in sports, music, dance, drama and academics.
The country does not pay teachers well. The Government should equip schools with learning materials.
Unless the Government takes keen interest in revamping the education sector, our schools shall collapse.

Gen. Moses Ali – second deputy premier
In our days, the school had serious teachers and students who loved what they did. The school was also well managed.
Moses Ali says they joined the school after independence and followed a routine, which valued hard work and discipline.
As old students, we are going to call a meeting and fundraise to equip the library and laboratories.