Nyakasura school redeems colonial image
Jul 14, 2010
IT was in 1926 that a retired captain arrived in Tooro Kingdom and began establishing a school which he named after a small river, Nyakasura in Bukuuku sub-county, Burahya County of the kingdom.<br>The type of education he introduced in Nyakasura was a combination of both social studies as well as
IT was in 1926 that a retired captain arrived in Tooro Kingdom and began establishing a school which he named after a small river, Nyakasura in Bukuuku sub-county, Burahya County of the kingdom.
The type of education he introduced in Nyakasura was a combination of both social studies as well as technical work.
He went to the then Omukama (King) of Tooro, Kyebambe Kasagama and said: “Give me your youth and I shall give you chiefsâ€. From then on, Batooro young boys, especially children of chiefs joined Nyakasura School.
In Britain, the captain came from Scotland where people wear shirts on top of round short skirts. The skirts have slanting strips fixed around the waist with belts and instead of pockets, the skirt is provided with a small bag-container in front of the thighs and is called a “sporran†where one keeps either keys, money or a handkerchief. The skirt is called a kilt. He introduced it in Nyakasura to cherish his traditional dress of Scotland.
What is interesting to note is;
-He was interested in devoting his life to a school.
- A school in a foreign land.
Such a school was to be founded on the basis of philosophy as a correct moral world outlook.
Because of the captain’s devotion to spiritual life to guide Nyakasura, he put up a chapel in which students went every morning after breakfast after which they would go for classes. In the school chapel, he put up an organ made of wooden pipes from the Nyakasura wetland to play hymns.
Because he was military oriented, every 6:00am there was a morning run for everybody, then cleaning of all dormitories and footpaths before breakfast. The breakfast was followed by parade. After the parade, students marched to the chapel entrance for prayers after which, they would go to class.
Every 10:00am, there was a drill for all students. Then back to classes from 11:00am to 12:30pm, for lunch.
Students rested in the dormitories from 1:00pm to 2:00pm, then went for afternoon classes. At 4:00pm, they got out of class, have evening tea and go for sports.
In sport, the captain introduced football, cricket and swimming. The captain would take evening walks to inspect the area, but if, in the process, he would foresee a lady, he would immediately turn his face towards either left or right of the path to avoid the lady. He did not want to acquaint himself with women.
He had a male servant in the house. At one time instead of the servant taking water for bathing to the bathroom before the commander went there, the commander entered the bathroom before the servant brought water.
The commander had taken shoes off his feet. Because the commander was always seen with covered feet, the Batooro thought those were his natural feet. When the domestic servant saw his naked feet in the bathroom, news that his feet were always just covered up with certain items, but he also had feet with five toes each like the Batooro, spread. This was news because the Batooro did not know the culture of shoes.
The captain died in Namirembe Hospital in 1945 suffering from a knee problem and was buried at the side of the school compound.
Conclusion:
Captain commander Callwell was a product of the British capitalist class which was in charge of colonialism — a system where either a country or group of countries is bound together by political ties for purposes of the colonising capitalist class of a foreign country.
Despite British conquest of Uganda for its (British) economic purposes, not only Nyakasura School, but all schools established under colonialism, are not totally regrettable.
The only argument may be that the syllabuses should have been balanced to make the indigenous population realise their labour contribution towards the development of the economy on their territory. But the nature of socio-political arrangement based on conquest could not allow that. Otherwise that could not be colonialism or colonising a people.
After colonisation, schools and colleges as introduced by colonialism should not be denounced, but improved upon with the aim and on the basis of transforming the academic content and quality of all academic institutions.
Colonialism should be denounced as a negative socio-economic arrangement against total welfare of the colonised people, but only the infrastructure should be retained only on the basis and aim of improving the welfare of the post-colonial populations.
At the time of national independence foreign technology and art should have been denounced as non-indigenous culture, but should have been incorporated into and combined with the old pre-colonial good to create a new thesis to realise a better socio-economic being on behalf of humanity.
It should be noted that during the process of colonising a people, colonising gradually creates and gives rise to a new human being who also gradually realises how wrong colonising others is, then creates a liberation movement which emerges with two edges on both its sides — one to liberate the colonised and another to liberate the colonisers who did not know that colonising others was bad and wrong.
There should be a universal struggle for peace, friendship and love between and within all peoples so that humanity becomes humane.
The writer is a lecturer of philosophy at the Kyankwanzi Military School
The type of education he introduced in Nyakasura was a combination of both social studies as well as technical work.
He went to the then Omukama (King) of Tooro, Kyebambe Kasagama and said: “Give me your youth and I shall give you chiefsâ€. From then on, Batooro young boys, especially children of chiefs joined Nyakasura School.
In Britain, the captain came from Scotland where people wear shirts on top of round short skirts. The skirts have slanting strips fixed around the waist with belts and instead of pockets, the skirt is provided with a small bag-container in front of the thighs and is called a “sporran†where one keeps either keys, money or a handkerchief. The skirt is called a kilt. He introduced it in Nyakasura to cherish his traditional dress of Scotland.
What is interesting to note is;
-He was interested in devoting his life to a school.
- A school in a foreign land.
Such a school was to be founded on the basis of philosophy as a correct moral world outlook.
Because of the captain’s devotion to spiritual life to guide Nyakasura, he put up a chapel in which students went every morning after breakfast after which they would go for classes. In the school chapel, he put up an organ made of wooden pipes from the Nyakasura wetland to play hymns.
Because he was military oriented, every 6:00am there was a morning run for everybody, then cleaning of all dormitories and footpaths before breakfast. The breakfast was followed by parade. After the parade, students marched to the chapel entrance for prayers after which, they would go to class.
Every 10:00am, there was a drill for all students. Then back to classes from 11:00am to 12:30pm, for lunch.
Students rested in the dormitories from 1:00pm to 2:00pm, then went for afternoon classes. At 4:00pm, they got out of class, have evening tea and go for sports.
In sport, the captain introduced football, cricket and swimming. The captain would take evening walks to inspect the area, but if, in the process, he would foresee a lady, he would immediately turn his face towards either left or right of the path to avoid the lady. He did not want to acquaint himself with women.
He had a male servant in the house. At one time instead of the servant taking water for bathing to the bathroom before the commander went there, the commander entered the bathroom before the servant brought water.
The commander had taken shoes off his feet. Because the commander was always seen with covered feet, the Batooro thought those were his natural feet. When the domestic servant saw his naked feet in the bathroom, news that his feet were always just covered up with certain items, but he also had feet with five toes each like the Batooro, spread. This was news because the Batooro did not know the culture of shoes.
The captain died in Namirembe Hospital in 1945 suffering from a knee problem and was buried at the side of the school compound.
Conclusion:
Captain commander Callwell was a product of the British capitalist class which was in charge of colonialism — a system where either a country or group of countries is bound together by political ties for purposes of the colonising capitalist class of a foreign country.
Despite British conquest of Uganda for its (British) economic purposes, not only Nyakasura School, but all schools established under colonialism, are not totally regrettable.
The only argument may be that the syllabuses should have been balanced to make the indigenous population realise their labour contribution towards the development of the economy on their territory. But the nature of socio-political arrangement based on conquest could not allow that. Otherwise that could not be colonialism or colonising a people.
After colonisation, schools and colleges as introduced by colonialism should not be denounced, but improved upon with the aim and on the basis of transforming the academic content and quality of all academic institutions.
Colonialism should be denounced as a negative socio-economic arrangement against total welfare of the colonised people, but only the infrastructure should be retained only on the basis and aim of improving the welfare of the post-colonial populations.
At the time of national independence foreign technology and art should have been denounced as non-indigenous culture, but should have been incorporated into and combined with the old pre-colonial good to create a new thesis to realise a better socio-economic being on behalf of humanity.
It should be noted that during the process of colonising a people, colonising gradually creates and gives rise to a new human being who also gradually realises how wrong colonising others is, then creates a liberation movement which emerges with two edges on both its sides — one to liberate the colonised and another to liberate the colonisers who did not know that colonising others was bad and wrong.
There should be a universal struggle for peace, friendship and love between and within all peoples so that humanity becomes humane.
The writer is a lecturer of philosophy at the Kyankwanzi Military School