First Lady makes maiden school visit as Education Minister

Jul 18, 2016

She was treated to performances by the school band and a poem

In her new office as minister for education and sports, the first Lady Janet Museveni made her maiden school visit to St. Peter's Senior Secondary School in Nsambya on Monday as her first stop.

She was welcomed by a jubilant team from St. Peter's music, dance and drama team, representatives of the Board of Governors, the staff and old students of the school.

In her remarks, the First Lady said that she was indeed honoured by the visit, pointing it out as a starting point for many to come.

"I am interested in finding out how the ministry is doing in schools and I have the desire to visit even more schools," she said.

On arrival, the minister received a bouquet of flowers from one of the students and her visit was kicked off by the planting of a tree in the school compound.

She then held a meeting with the school administration during which she was briefed on the status of the school.

St. Peter's at a glance

St. Peter's SSS is one of the Kampala-based secondary schools that are aided by the government and has been in that bracket since 1983, 76 years after it was founded by the Mill Hill Missionaries in 1907.

With an enrolment of about 1063 students, St. Peter's was selected by the education ministry as a center of excellence to receive support for upgrade and is benefiting from a grant from the African Development Bank (ADB) for the same.

Upon welcoming the minister, Remigius Mubiru the school's head teacher pointed out that the school has made formidable progress thus far, a possible reason for her visit.

 

"With committed staff and parents we have become one of the best performing schools in the country. We are the winners of the just-concluded debate competitions in Kampala, our volleyball team is this year's third at national level and we have just had 20 of our students selected for government scholarships in public universities for the coming academic year," Mubiru said.

Mubiru also noted that the school earned an award by the Cross-cultural Foundation of Uganda for maintaining ‘Fort Jesus' the first mission house of the Mill Hill Missionaries in Uganda that has stood since 1895.

Students' take home

In her address to the students, Museveni applauded the school for the good performance and cautioned the students against paying attention to diversionary attractions.

"You are the generation we hope to entrust with the leadership of this country. However you need to focus on your education which is the main reason you are in school," she said.

She was treated to performances by the school band and a poem titled ‘Virtuous Woman' by four of the student leaders in which they thanked the government for the development reached so far.

Through the poem, the students also thanked the First Lady for her commitment to promoting education for the girl child and contributing to the development of the Karamoja region in her previous mandate as the sub region's minister.

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