Nawantumbi parents boost UPE schools
Aug 14, 2006
LITTLE Nabirye storms out of the classroom leading a group of cheering pupils. They appear relieved from their dusty classroom, half of which still has stones on the floor. The excited pupils disperse into the school compound to play, for it is break time.
By John Eremu
LITTLE Nabirye storms out of the classroom leading a group of cheering pupils. They appear relieved from their dusty classroom, half of which still has stones on the floor. The excited pupils disperse into the school compound to play, for it is break time.
Had it not been for a community initiative, pupils like Nabirye would have to walk over four kilometres to the nearest primary school. While some communities wait for the Government or donors to build schools for them schools, parents in Nawantumbi parish, Buzaaya county, Kamuli, have not sat back to wait.
Under the Nawantumbi Parish Community UPE Pilot Project, parents have put up four model primary schools or added additional facilities to save their children from walking long distances and also to supplement the Government’s efforts towards Universal Primary Education (UPE).
Fred Kagoda, the project coordinator, says the scheme was initiated by Kirunda Kivejinja, the Minister for Information and National Guidance. The four pilot schools – Nawantumbi Church of Uganda, Nalinaibi, Bukusu and Buwagi – now have over 2,300 pupils.
“There was no school in this place,†Kagoda told Education Vision. The nearest school here was Nawanyago, about four kilometres away. So the parents were mobilised and they made bricks, fetched sand and provided other locally available materials as well as labour to put up this school,†Kagoda said, pointing at an eight-classroom block, complete with a staffroom, head teacher’s office and a library.
Kagoda said Kivejinja mobilised funds from well-wishers to pay for skilled labour and to procure items that could not be locally availed like cement and roofing materials.
He says after putting the structures in place, they will concentrate on improving academics.
To avoid studying on empty stomachs, parents contribute three kilogrammes of maize corn per term, which is milled. From this, porridge is made and served at lunch time.
Peter Ikoba, the head teacher Bukusu primary school, says when the harvest is good, parents are encouraged to provide enough corn to cover two terms. A sh1,000 charge is levied on each pupil and this goes to milling and paying the cooks. Though incomplete, Nawantumbi primary school, located 35km on Jinja–Kamuli road provides education to 272 pupils and has 10 staff members. According to the deputy head teacher, George Tigawalana, Busoga diocese donated a borehole and the parents provided labour and materials.
At Nalinaibi primary school, another community initiative situated three kilometres off the main road, Johnson Isabirye, the school management committee chairperson, says the sensitisation programme championed by Kivejinja in 1988 had paid off, but that politics of intrigue had slowed progress. “If we are to move faster, we need assistance from the local government or Good Samaritans,†Isabirye said.
Like at Nawantumbi, the 560 pupils at Nalinaibi study in classrooms with unfinished floors. The classroom walls remain unplastered and doors and windows lacking According to Ikoba, although Bukusu which has 666 pupils is more established, the parents have continued to improve the school facilities. The latest community project is a six-stance pit latrine under construction with assistance from Action Aid International.
The Government recently constructed two staff classrooms under the School Facilities Grant.
At Buwagi Primary School, bare-footed pupils were glued to computers donated by Nuulu Kaugu Kawooya of Nile Bank.
A printer donated by a Good Samaritan and delivered by Education Vision excited the staff and the school management committee members led by the chairman Hajji Juma Kiyuba.
In addition to the existing structures, Buwagi parents are putting another seven-classroom block to accommodate the increasing number of pupils. Enrollment has shot up from about 600 three years ago to 802 today according to the headmaster, Ali Basomerani.
Basomerani says although Kivejinja had asked the community to mobilise materials for four classrooms, the parents collected enough materials for additional three classrooms. “The community has opened a private boarding section, which has 110 pupils,†said Basomerani.
Kagoda says a lot can be achieved if the communities are sensitised and involved at every stage of the projects. The Nawantumbi Parish Community UPE project is an initiative worth emulating. As a way of inspiring others, the efforts of Nawantumbi parents should be rewarded by helping them overcome the remaining challenges.
Their biggest challenges are the completion of the classrooms, construction of teachers’ houses, provision of water points within the schools and an alternative power source for Buwagi, if the pupils are to take advantage of the computers.
Although Nawantumbi primary school is grant-aided, it is not an examination centre because the hall is not complete. A large hall is one of the conditions set by the UNEB before granting the school a centre number. At the moment, enrollment is up to P6.
LITTLE Nabirye storms out of the classroom leading a group of cheering pupils. They appear relieved from their dusty classroom, half of which still has stones on the floor. The excited pupils disperse into the school compound to play, for it is break time.
Had it not been for a community initiative, pupils like Nabirye would have to walk over four kilometres to the nearest primary school. While some communities wait for the Government or donors to build schools for them schools, parents in Nawantumbi parish, Buzaaya county, Kamuli, have not sat back to wait.
Under the Nawantumbi Parish Community UPE Pilot Project, parents have put up four model primary schools or added additional facilities to save their children from walking long distances and also to supplement the Government’s efforts towards Universal Primary Education (UPE).
Fred Kagoda, the project coordinator, says the scheme was initiated by Kirunda Kivejinja, the Minister for Information and National Guidance. The four pilot schools – Nawantumbi Church of Uganda, Nalinaibi, Bukusu and Buwagi – now have over 2,300 pupils.
“There was no school in this place,†Kagoda told Education Vision. The nearest school here was Nawanyago, about four kilometres away. So the parents were mobilised and they made bricks, fetched sand and provided other locally available materials as well as labour to put up this school,†Kagoda said, pointing at an eight-classroom block, complete with a staffroom, head teacher’s office and a library.
Kagoda said Kivejinja mobilised funds from well-wishers to pay for skilled labour and to procure items that could not be locally availed like cement and roofing materials.
He says after putting the structures in place, they will concentrate on improving academics.
To avoid studying on empty stomachs, parents contribute three kilogrammes of maize corn per term, which is milled. From this, porridge is made and served at lunch time.
Peter Ikoba, the head teacher Bukusu primary school, says when the harvest is good, parents are encouraged to provide enough corn to cover two terms. A sh1,000 charge is levied on each pupil and this goes to milling and paying the cooks. Though incomplete, Nawantumbi primary school, located 35km on Jinja–Kamuli road provides education to 272 pupils and has 10 staff members. According to the deputy head teacher, George Tigawalana, Busoga diocese donated a borehole and the parents provided labour and materials.
At Nalinaibi primary school, another community initiative situated three kilometres off the main road, Johnson Isabirye, the school management committee chairperson, says the sensitisation programme championed by Kivejinja in 1988 had paid off, but that politics of intrigue had slowed progress. “If we are to move faster, we need assistance from the local government or Good Samaritans,†Isabirye said.
Like at Nawantumbi, the 560 pupils at Nalinaibi study in classrooms with unfinished floors. The classroom walls remain unplastered and doors and windows lacking According to Ikoba, although Bukusu which has 666 pupils is more established, the parents have continued to improve the school facilities. The latest community project is a six-stance pit latrine under construction with assistance from Action Aid International.
The Government recently constructed two staff classrooms under the School Facilities Grant.
At Buwagi Primary School, bare-footed pupils were glued to computers donated by Nuulu Kaugu Kawooya of Nile Bank.
A printer donated by a Good Samaritan and delivered by Education Vision excited the staff and the school management committee members led by the chairman Hajji Juma Kiyuba.
In addition to the existing structures, Buwagi parents are putting another seven-classroom block to accommodate the increasing number of pupils. Enrollment has shot up from about 600 three years ago to 802 today according to the headmaster, Ali Basomerani.
Basomerani says although Kivejinja had asked the community to mobilise materials for four classrooms, the parents collected enough materials for additional three classrooms. “The community has opened a private boarding section, which has 110 pupils,†said Basomerani.
Kagoda says a lot can be achieved if the communities are sensitised and involved at every stage of the projects. The Nawantumbi Parish Community UPE project is an initiative worth emulating. As a way of inspiring others, the efforts of Nawantumbi parents should be rewarded by helping them overcome the remaining challenges.
Their biggest challenges are the completion of the classrooms, construction of teachers’ houses, provision of water points within the schools and an alternative power source for Buwagi, if the pupils are to take advantage of the computers.
Although Nawantumbi primary school is grant-aided, it is not an examination centre because the hall is not complete. A large hall is one of the conditions set by the UNEB before granting the school a centre number. At the moment, enrollment is up to P6.