Kayunga’s oldest school on the verge of collapse
THE oldest school in Kayunga district is on the verge of collapse unless major repairs are carried out very soon.
By Elvis Basudde
THE oldest school in Kayunga district is on the verge of collapse unless major repairs are carried out very soon.
Despite a history of having moulded scores of well-placed people in the country, 94-year- old Ndeeba Church of Uganda primary school is now a display of neglect and derelict.
The 40-acre UPE school is perched on Ndeeba hill, about half a kilometre from Bukolooto along Kayunga-Jinja road, 49 miles from Kayunga town.
The classroom blocks have neither doors nor window shutters. The iron sheets are rusty and rotten, and termites have eaten up all the roofing timber. The classroom floors are dusty and the cement is all gone. When it rains the classrooms flood and get muddy. Both the pupils and teachers scramble for dry places.
“I predict a nasty situation if the old boys and girls and well-wishers don’t do something soon for the school,†says Ziwa Zirimala , an OB of the school. “Should there be a heavy rainfall or strong wind, these buildings will collapse on the children.â€
Richard Kulata, the head teacher says the government does not cater for the renovation of old buildings but puts up new ones where there are none.
Kulata cannot direct the school facility grant for renovation. The UPE capitation grant is not only inadequate but also segmented to meet other requirements like buying scholastic materials. Nothing is for maintenance. Moreover the grant is not given every year. It rotates to other schools in the district.
Zirimala says the school problems been worsened by the community’s impoverishment after coffee and bananas which used to be the main source of income in the district, were destroyed by disease.
“The parents have no means of supporting the school. The only solution is for the old boys and old girls to fund raise,†says Zirimala.
Unfortunately the first OBs and OGs meeting that was called on November 19 to raise money for renovation was a total flop. Not even the area Member of Parliament and education ministry officials showed up.
“The school has produced many high-profile people but it is a pity that despite the invitations that we sent out they have not shown up to restore the school back to its old glory,†said Godfrey Kyeyune, an old boy and director of Rubaga Youth Development Association (RYDA) Buloba.
He donated a computer to the school and pledged to buy 10 bags of cement.
Some of the people who have gone through the school include Kitaka Gawela, chairman District Service Commission, Betty Makumbi, chairperson LC III of Kayunga Town Council, Dr. Kefa Kamya Semakula Bishop of West Uganda, Oliver Makumbi, a lecturer at the Ndejje University.
The school started in 1910 as a sub grade centre under Church of Uganda. In 1926, it was upgraded to a primary school. It was taken over by the central government in 1942.
Today the school has 22 teachers with a population of 750 pupils. In 2002 it had seven first grades and the following year there were 17 in the first grade. Will Ndeeba Primary School continue to groom Kayunga leaders?
THE oldest school in Kayunga district is on the verge of collapse unless major repairs are carried out very soon.
Despite a history of having moulded scores of well-placed people in the country, 94-year- old Ndeeba Church of Uganda primary school is now a display of neglect and derelict.
The 40-acre UPE school is perched on Ndeeba hill, about half a kilometre from Bukolooto along Kayunga-Jinja road, 49 miles from Kayunga town.
The classroom blocks have neither doors nor window shutters. The iron sheets are rusty and rotten, and termites have eaten up all the roofing timber. The classroom floors are dusty and the cement is all gone. When it rains the classrooms flood and get muddy. Both the pupils and teachers scramble for dry places.
“I predict a nasty situation if the old boys and girls and well-wishers don’t do something soon for the school,†says Ziwa Zirimala , an OB of the school. “Should there be a heavy rainfall or strong wind, these buildings will collapse on the children.â€
Richard Kulata, the head teacher says the government does not cater for the renovation of old buildings but puts up new ones where there are none.
Kulata cannot direct the school facility grant for renovation. The UPE capitation grant is not only inadequate but also segmented to meet other requirements like buying scholastic materials. Nothing is for maintenance. Moreover the grant is not given every year. It rotates to other schools in the district.
Zirimala says the school problems been worsened by the community’s impoverishment after coffee and bananas which used to be the main source of income in the district, were destroyed by disease.
“The parents have no means of supporting the school. The only solution is for the old boys and old girls to fund raise,†says Zirimala.
Unfortunately the first OBs and OGs meeting that was called on November 19 to raise money for renovation was a total flop. Not even the area Member of Parliament and education ministry officials showed up.
“The school has produced many high-profile people but it is a pity that despite the invitations that we sent out they have not shown up to restore the school back to its old glory,†said Godfrey Kyeyune, an old boy and director of Rubaga Youth Development Association (RYDA) Buloba.
He donated a computer to the school and pledged to buy 10 bags of cement.
Some of the people who have gone through the school include Kitaka Gawela, chairman District Service Commission, Betty Makumbi, chairperson LC III of Kayunga Town Council, Dr. Kefa Kamya Semakula Bishop of West Uganda, Oliver Makumbi, a lecturer at the Ndejje University.
The school started in 1910 as a sub grade centre under Church of Uganda. In 1926, it was upgraded to a primary school. It was taken over by the central government in 1942.
Today the school has 22 teachers with a population of 750 pupils. In 2002 it had seven first grades and the following year there were 17 in the first grade. Will Ndeeba Primary School continue to groom Kayunga leaders?