Teaching was not his passion but he made it to the top
HIS heart beat beat was fast — I could tell from the movement of his chest. Then he smiled broadly. Call it a sheer rags-to-riches tale, but Paul Mukasa’s venture into entrepreneurship was largely by chance. Born out of wedlock, his journey to the top
By Frederick Womakuyu
HIS heart beat beat was fast — I could tell from the movement of his chest. Then he smiled broadly. Call it a sheer rags-to-riches tale, but Paul Mukasa’s venture into entrepreneurship was largely by chance. Born out of wedlock, his journey to the top was awesome.
At 42, Mukasa is the proprietor of Makindye Junior School and Prime Educational Consult, an agency providing training to teachers to assess and evaluate primary education. The agency also sets exams and provides teaching and examination materials to schools.
Mukasa was raised by a single mother who cultivated sweet potatoes to raise his fees. At the age of seven, she gave him a portion of land to cultivate potatoes. “I grew potatoes and sold them at the roadside. I used my first income to buy a pair of trousers which I wore when I joined college,†he says.
In his Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), Mukasa scored a first grade, but failed to obtain admission to Ndejje SSS. At that time (in the 1980s), one had to score only distinctions to join the school.
“I had credits, so I repeated P.7,†he says.
After his second attempt at PLE, disaster struck: “Mother said she had no money to send me to school. She spent all her money on paying hospital bills for her child whom she had had with Mukasa’s stepfather.
Unfortunately, the child passed on. “I understood but was upset because my dream of becoming a pilot crumbled.
“I scored first grade again, but decided to join a teacher training college. Teachers were paid well and lived in modest houses. In fact, most opinion leaders were teachers.
“I later enrolled into college as a Grade Two teacher. The Government paid my tuition and also gave me pocket money.â€
Many people who enrolled for a Grade II Certificate had scored first grade in PLE, but had failed to get school fees for secondary education. It was a four-year course. “Some people had branded it a course for poor people. In fact there was a Luganda saying that TTC (teachers training college) meant Taata Talina Ssente,â€
Mukasa jokes. But he was determined to work hard and overcome poverty. Mukasa scored Grade A in his Grade II Certificate Exams and was admitted to Rakai Teachers Training College for a Grade III Certificate.
“The college decided to award me a certificate at the end of my first year, instead of the second. The scholars trusted me.†In 1987, Mukasa was recruited as a Grade III teacher at Mugwanya Preparatory School.
“That was the first time I came in touch with real teaching. Teaching in an urban school exposed me to students who could speak English.
“They would also understand faster than their rural colleagues. People who teach in village schools have to work four times harder than their urban counterparts.â€
Mukasa says, unlike these days, teaching was a prestigious job; salaries were paid on time; teachers were given accommodation, transport allowance and food, which motivated them.
But later, Mukasa went into private practice. “I thought I could offer better services. In my first year of teaching, I was already colliding with my bosses because I felt my ideas would make the school better, but they were being trashed.â€
He quit Mugwanya after three years. “I wanted an environment where I could influence change, so I joined hands with my colleague and we founded St. Matia Mulumba Primary School,†he adds.
“I left Mulumba for the same reasons I left Mugwanya. I joined Kazinda Memorial School as the headteacher. I learnt that I had made many mistakes and had to reform.â€
But a year later, Mukasa still called it quits after another round of frustration. In 1996, he became the headteacher of Sir Apollo Kaggwa Primary School.
“It was the first time I worked with a real entrepreneur. The director of the school left me to run it, unlike the previous ones,†Mukasa says.
Sir Apollo Kaggwa grew very fast: It started with 116 pupils in 1996 and by 1998, it had 400 pupils. In 1997, all the pupils passed PLE in first grade. By 2000, Sir Apollo Kaggwa had four sister schools in Kampala.
“I enrolled for a diploma in education and scored a first class. My director appointed me the coordinator of the schools,†he says.
“I had to ensure that the schools performed well, which I did.†In 2000, Mukasa graduated with a Bachelor of Education at Makerere University, majoring in Evaluation and Administration. Despite the success, there have been challenges. “People management is a big issue,†he says.
Mukasa is putting up another four-storey building and also plans to expand the teachers’ facilities. His vision is to see the school and the agency develop into corporate institutions.
“I want these institutions to bridge the older experienced, highly professional teachers with the young ambitious people so that they learn from each other,†he says.
How Mukasa made it to the top
In 2001, Mukasa left Sir Apollo Kaggwa schools and set up Makindye Junior School. He was setting aside part of his income from his consultancy. He started with five classes and in wooden structures with about 100 pupils. Today, he has built a state- of-the-art four-storey building. A total of 500 pupils have enrolled.
The school has grown tremendously; from six first grades out of the 24 at the time they started, the number has increased to 27 first grades out of 45. Last year, the school got 27 first grades and eight second grades out of 35 pupils. It was ranked the seventh best school in Uganda, according to a New Vision Survey. Mukasa owes the good performance to teamwork.
HIS heart beat beat was fast — I could tell from the movement of his chest. Then he smiled broadly. Call it a sheer rags-to-riches tale, but Paul Mukasa’s venture into entrepreneurship was largely by chance. Born out of wedlock, his journey to the top was awesome.
At 42, Mukasa is the proprietor of Makindye Junior School and Prime Educational Consult, an agency providing training to teachers to assess and evaluate primary education. The agency also sets exams and provides teaching and examination materials to schools.
Mukasa was raised by a single mother who cultivated sweet potatoes to raise his fees. At the age of seven, she gave him a portion of land to cultivate potatoes. “I grew potatoes and sold them at the roadside. I used my first income to buy a pair of trousers which I wore when I joined college,†he says.
In his Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), Mukasa scored a first grade, but failed to obtain admission to Ndejje SSS. At that time (in the 1980s), one had to score only distinctions to join the school.
“I had credits, so I repeated P.7,†he says.
After his second attempt at PLE, disaster struck: “Mother said she had no money to send me to school. She spent all her money on paying hospital bills for her child whom she had had with Mukasa’s stepfather.
Unfortunately, the child passed on. “I understood but was upset because my dream of becoming a pilot crumbled.
“I scored first grade again, but decided to join a teacher training college. Teachers were paid well and lived in modest houses. In fact, most opinion leaders were teachers.
“I later enrolled into college as a Grade Two teacher. The Government paid my tuition and also gave me pocket money.â€
Many people who enrolled for a Grade II Certificate had scored first grade in PLE, but had failed to get school fees for secondary education. It was a four-year course. “Some people had branded it a course for poor people. In fact there was a Luganda saying that TTC (teachers training college) meant Taata Talina Ssente,â€
Mukasa jokes. But he was determined to work hard and overcome poverty. Mukasa scored Grade A in his Grade II Certificate Exams and was admitted to Rakai Teachers Training College for a Grade III Certificate.
“The college decided to award me a certificate at the end of my first year, instead of the second. The scholars trusted me.†In 1987, Mukasa was recruited as a Grade III teacher at Mugwanya Preparatory School.
“That was the first time I came in touch with real teaching. Teaching in an urban school exposed me to students who could speak English.
“They would also understand faster than their rural colleagues. People who teach in village schools have to work four times harder than their urban counterparts.â€
Mukasa says, unlike these days, teaching was a prestigious job; salaries were paid on time; teachers were given accommodation, transport allowance and food, which motivated them.
But later, Mukasa went into private practice. “I thought I could offer better services. In my first year of teaching, I was already colliding with my bosses because I felt my ideas would make the school better, but they were being trashed.â€
He quit Mugwanya after three years. “I wanted an environment where I could influence change, so I joined hands with my colleague and we founded St. Matia Mulumba Primary School,†he adds.
“I left Mulumba for the same reasons I left Mugwanya. I joined Kazinda Memorial School as the headteacher. I learnt that I had made many mistakes and had to reform.â€
But a year later, Mukasa still called it quits after another round of frustration. In 1996, he became the headteacher of Sir Apollo Kaggwa Primary School.
“It was the first time I worked with a real entrepreneur. The director of the school left me to run it, unlike the previous ones,†Mukasa says.
Sir Apollo Kaggwa grew very fast: It started with 116 pupils in 1996 and by 1998, it had 400 pupils. In 1997, all the pupils passed PLE in first grade. By 2000, Sir Apollo Kaggwa had four sister schools in Kampala.
“I enrolled for a diploma in education and scored a first class. My director appointed me the coordinator of the schools,†he says.
“I had to ensure that the schools performed well, which I did.†In 2000, Mukasa graduated with a Bachelor of Education at Makerere University, majoring in Evaluation and Administration. Despite the success, there have been challenges. “People management is a big issue,†he says.
Mukasa is putting up another four-storey building and also plans to expand the teachers’ facilities. His vision is to see the school and the agency develop into corporate institutions.
“I want these institutions to bridge the older experienced, highly professional teachers with the young ambitious people so that they learn from each other,†he says.
How Mukasa made it to the top
In 2001, Mukasa left Sir Apollo Kaggwa schools and set up Makindye Junior School. He was setting aside part of his income from his consultancy. He started with five classes and in wooden structures with about 100 pupils. Today, he has built a state- of-the-art four-storey building. A total of 500 pupils have enrolled.
The school has grown tremendously; from six first grades out of the 24 at the time they started, the number has increased to 27 first grades out of 45. Last year, the school got 27 first grades and eight second grades out of 35 pupils. It was ranked the seventh best school in Uganda, according to a New Vision Survey. Mukasa owes the good performance to teamwork.