Christ the King SS has come out of the dark

By Eddie Ssejjoba in Rakai Few people cared about the plight of the girls’ education in 1954. But the late Catholic Archbishop, Joseph Kiwanuka, had a vision and saw it necessary to establish a girls’ secondary school in Rakai district.Thus Christ the King Secondary School, Kalisizo was born. Established in 1954 with humble beginnings, the archbishop’s determination saw the school grow. The clergy quickly spread word about the school and Christians all over Masaka diocese welcomed the idea. Kiwanuka called upon the laity to contribute sh1 each. The first foundation was laid at Kassabbaale in Villa Maria parish. Kiwanuka’s goal was to build an institution that would educate girls and empower them with an all round education to ably fit in an oppressive society. In 1956 the school moved from Kassabbaale to its present location at Bulinda hill near Kalisizo town, Rakai district. The school proudly stands on a 120-acre piece of land donated by a lady, only identified as Sarah. She was one of the many Christians who were touched by the archbishop’s call. Kiwanuka’ vision was that the future of society lay in the empowerment of the woman, who nurtures the children, the backbone of the next generation. He said that if the girls’ heads, hands and hearts were well nurtured, the future of society would be on the right truck .He wanted girls to be taught, apart from academic studies, appropriate skills that befits them and their future roles in society. Mrs Rose Izizinga, the present headteacher, says the archbishop realised that women were neglected in almost every aspect, and were most hit by poverty. However, the school was to go through difficult times almost crumbling at one stage. Until 1997, Christ the King SS was under the management of the Catholic Church. Misunderstanding between parents and the administration, however caused a leadership vacuum. The church finally handed it over to the Ministry of Education and Sports. This when Izizinga, the first lay head teacher, took over. This amazing woman is seen as the saviour of the school. Before her headship, the school had gone to the dogs due to various difficulties. To begin with, the general discipline of the girls had deteriorated raising bitter complaints from parents who demanded for a change in management. Many others pulled out slowly. The wars of 1979 and 1985 also contributed to its set back. Army men camped in the school premises and destroyed all the school facilities that have taken long to be replaced. The HIV/Aids scourge that hit the district in the early 1980s led to a high number of orphans and acute administrative problems that contributed to deterioration in academic standards. Many parents died in the process, leaving a big number of orphans, many of who were already at the school. This greatly contributed to the high drop out rate. Payment of school dues became a problem and always affected school programmes. Many teachers became ill, which later affected staffing, and many were scared away. Izizinga says she took over the administration with about 450 students but the number has risen steadily to 530 for both ‘O’ and ‘A’ level. “By the Grace of God, team work between administration and teachers, corporation with parents and positive response from students, the situation has greatly changed, and our future seems to be bright,” the headteacher says . In the past four years, Christ the King has been at the top in Rakai in both ‘O’ and ‘A’ level finals. In fact, a big number of their candidates have been admitted to Makerere University on government sponsorship. Since 1997, the number of ‘O’ level candidates passing in grade one has risen from nine, 23, 43 to 54 last year. At ‘A’ level, the percentage of university entrants has moved from, 23.25%, 38.46% , 57.57%, 63.15% respectively. The school has introduced computer lessons and there are attempts to make science subjects compulsory at ‘O’ level in an effort to change ancient myths that girls can not perform well in sciences. Izizinga says that discipline has been key to the improved performance. This has been achieved through co-curricular activities. As a result, a number of sporting activities have been introduced along side the traditional ones. Farming is now part of the compulsory activities. The school has a dairy farm, poultry, and a banana plantation. Mr. Andrew Isabirye was appointed in charge of the co-curricular activities, and his efforts are bearing fruits. The school boasts of 46 teachers, the majority of whom are permanent and catered for by the school. This contributed to improved academic performance. Izizinga says that religion has been emphasised in order to promote spiritual and moral values in the students. In addition to constant retreats, the school has two priests, from the Church of Uganda and the Catholic Church. The Moslems’ spiritual needs are also taken care of. The students created a Charity Ministry through which they counsel each other on both private and academic problems. They seek assistance for fellows who turn into orphans before completing their studies to enable them continue schooling. “After all these efforts, the attitude of the general public about our school has drastically changed, and we now have over 210 students from Rakai and Masaka, and others from elsewhere,” Izizinga says confidently. The school board is happy about the achievements. At the end of his term of office, former board Chairman, Brother Leandro Mutebi said: “We see light at the end of the tunnel.” ends