HERITAGE OIL’S SH60M SCHOOL LIGHTS UP BUHUKA PARISH
Mar 25, 2009
At 10:20am, the plane touched down at Nsonga village, one hour after take-off from Kajjansi airfield in Kampala.
By Francis Kagolo
Before the intervention, the school had one teacher and only went up to Primary Four
At 10:20am, the plane touched down at Nsonga village, one hour after take-off from Kajjansi airfield in Kampala.
The scorching sun and a crowd of pupils from the only primary school in this remote part of south-western Uganda welcome guests.
Barely a year ago, Buhuka Primary School stopped at Primary Four. It was also the only school in the parish of 10 villages with a population of 10,000 people. The school was run by only one teacher in his late fifties.
Buhuka Parish in Kyangwari sub-county, Hoima district, is where a P4 drop-out would walk with a swagger; after all, he is among the elite class. However, the trend is slowly changing, thanks to Heritage Oil, a Canadian firm exploring oil in western Uganda.
The company upgraded Buhuka Primary school with structures worth $30,000(sh60m). The company also provided furniture, toilet facilities and a clean water source and teachers’ quarters.
Residents have changed the school name to Carl Nefdit Memorial Primary School to signify a rebirth for the area. Nefdit, a geologist who was working with Heritage Oil, was shot at Lake Albert last year.
Today, the school boasts of eight teachers. From about 50 pupils the school had in 2008, the number has shot up to 800 in one term.
“Our parents knew the value of education, but lack of facilities kept them behind,†says Godfrey Mugaati, the chairperson LCII.
This year, 16-year-old Anifa Nyapa enrolled in Primary Three at Carl Nefdit Memorial Primary School.
“I wanted to study, but my parents were unable to sponsor me. I tried our former school and I stopped in Primary Four, but now I am determined to make it to P7 and even join secondary school,†Nyapa says.
Although she walks, 7km to the school, Nyapa remains strong-willed. Nyapa’s father, Kassim Ugani, is confident his daughter will complete her studies. “We are grateful to Heritage Oil for constructing a school in our area,†Ogani says.
Bryan Westwood, Heritage’s general manager in East Africa, says they were compelled to construct the school due to the “appaling levels of poverty in the area.â€
The company has also constructed three boreholes in the villages and around the school at a cost of over sh1b.
Godfrey Kirundi, a father of five, had given up sending any of his children to school. He considered the school as “another waste of time.†However, he says, since the school was upgraded and the situation improved, all his children have enrolled.
The LCI chairman, William Kato, says the school will turn around the status of Buhuka. “We hope our children will study, get jobs and develop our area,†he says.
The permanent secretary in the ministry of education, Francis Xavier Lubanga, urged the teachers to make the school safe and child friendly.
“Give them a chance to enjoy their beautiful school,†he said in a speech read by Emanuel Kusemererwa Araali.
Lubanga was optimistic that Carl Nefdit Memorial would become the best primary school in the district.
“It is one of the few schools in Hoima where teachers reside at campus. Therefore, there is no excuse for not meeting expectations.â€
Lack of access to education, local authorities say, hindered development in the area. But the situation is not different from other parishes in the sub-county.
The acting district education officer, Resty Timbigamba, says the sub-county has only 12 primary schools. Buhuka was particularly underprivileged due to its location. The parish is cut off from the rest of the district by an escarpment that lies along the rift valley.
Transport is a big problem in the area. There is also no clean water sources.
These and other factors forced teachers away from the only school.
Initially, the school lacked classrooms and the children studied under trees.
Only Primary Four pupils would study in a dusty grass-thatched room without furniture. Catechists would take the children through subjects they were familiar with.
When the Government took over the school in 2002, parents thought the situation would change, only to be disappointed.
The head teacher, Yokonea Nyamayaro, says although the Government built permanent classrooms, the absence of teachers spelt doom to the children’s future.
“We tried to recruit new staff, but since we did not have staff quarters, they found renting a room at sh10,000 uneconomical. They all ran away
“I would teach P1 and P2 in the morning and shift to P3 and P4 in the afternoon. It was tiresome,†he says.
Timbigamba says many schools in Hoima have dilapidated classrooms and lack staff quarters, which has affected academic performance.
“The best of our P7 candidates get third grade and those are the ones who study in Hoima town.â€
She says her biggest challenge is retaining teachers in schools without teacher’ houses.
Whereas the national primary school enrollment currently stands at 92%, it is not more than 50% in Hoima.
Before the intervention, the school had one teacher and only went up to Primary Four
At 10:20am, the plane touched down at Nsonga village, one hour after take-off from Kajjansi airfield in Kampala.
The scorching sun and a crowd of pupils from the only primary school in this remote part of south-western Uganda welcome guests.
Barely a year ago, Buhuka Primary School stopped at Primary Four. It was also the only school in the parish of 10 villages with a population of 10,000 people. The school was run by only one teacher in his late fifties.
Buhuka Parish in Kyangwari sub-county, Hoima district, is where a P4 drop-out would walk with a swagger; after all, he is among the elite class. However, the trend is slowly changing, thanks to Heritage Oil, a Canadian firm exploring oil in western Uganda.
The company upgraded Buhuka Primary school with structures worth $30,000(sh60m). The company also provided furniture, toilet facilities and a clean water source and teachers’ quarters.
Residents have changed the school name to Carl Nefdit Memorial Primary School to signify a rebirth for the area. Nefdit, a geologist who was working with Heritage Oil, was shot at Lake Albert last year.
Today, the school boasts of eight teachers. From about 50 pupils the school had in 2008, the number has shot up to 800 in one term.
“Our parents knew the value of education, but lack of facilities kept them behind,†says Godfrey Mugaati, the chairperson LCII.
This year, 16-year-old Anifa Nyapa enrolled in Primary Three at Carl Nefdit Memorial Primary School.
“I wanted to study, but my parents were unable to sponsor me. I tried our former school and I stopped in Primary Four, but now I am determined to make it to P7 and even join secondary school,†Nyapa says.
Although she walks, 7km to the school, Nyapa remains strong-willed. Nyapa’s father, Kassim Ugani, is confident his daughter will complete her studies. “We are grateful to Heritage Oil for constructing a school in our area,†Ogani says.
Bryan Westwood, Heritage’s general manager in East Africa, says they were compelled to construct the school due to the “appaling levels of poverty in the area.â€
The company has also constructed three boreholes in the villages and around the school at a cost of over sh1b.
Godfrey Kirundi, a father of five, had given up sending any of his children to school. He considered the school as “another waste of time.†However, he says, since the school was upgraded and the situation improved, all his children have enrolled.
The LCI chairman, William Kato, says the school will turn around the status of Buhuka. “We hope our children will study, get jobs and develop our area,†he says.
The permanent secretary in the ministry of education, Francis Xavier Lubanga, urged the teachers to make the school safe and child friendly.
“Give them a chance to enjoy their beautiful school,†he said in a speech read by Emanuel Kusemererwa Araali.
Lubanga was optimistic that Carl Nefdit Memorial would become the best primary school in the district.
“It is one of the few schools in Hoima where teachers reside at campus. Therefore, there is no excuse for not meeting expectations.â€
Lack of access to education, local authorities say, hindered development in the area. But the situation is not different from other parishes in the sub-county.
The acting district education officer, Resty Timbigamba, says the sub-county has only 12 primary schools. Buhuka was particularly underprivileged due to its location. The parish is cut off from the rest of the district by an escarpment that lies along the rift valley.
Transport is a big problem in the area. There is also no clean water sources.
These and other factors forced teachers away from the only school.
Initially, the school lacked classrooms and the children studied under trees.
Only Primary Four pupils would study in a dusty grass-thatched room without furniture. Catechists would take the children through subjects they were familiar with.
When the Government took over the school in 2002, parents thought the situation would change, only to be disappointed.
The head teacher, Yokonea Nyamayaro, says although the Government built permanent classrooms, the absence of teachers spelt doom to the children’s future.
“We tried to recruit new staff, but since we did not have staff quarters, they found renting a room at sh10,000 uneconomical. They all ran away
“I would teach P1 and P2 in the morning and shift to P3 and P4 in the afternoon. It was tiresome,†he says.
Timbigamba says many schools in Hoima have dilapidated classrooms and lack staff quarters, which has affected academic performance.
“The best of our P7 candidates get third grade and those are the ones who study in Hoima town.â€
She says her biggest challenge is retaining teachers in schools without teacher’ houses.
Whereas the national primary school enrollment currently stands at 92%, it is not more than 50% in Hoima.