Education ministry wants Kamulegeya used a role model

When Muhammed Kamulegeya joined Kitebi Senior Secondary schools late last year just after a year at Kakira High School in eastern Uganda where he had been transferred he found the school, is a dire cry for space.

He had been the acting headteacher at Kibuli SS, before his transfer to Kakira High School; and it is at this school, that he made it to the final shortlist for the selection of Teachers Making a Difference Awards; sponsored by New Vision, Irish Embassy in Uganda, Trocaire and Simba Travelcare.

On arrival at Kitebi SS, over half of the 3,500 students in Kitebi SS, which is a day school, would only report to school in the afternoon, after their colleagues who reported in the morning have left. This is what is referred to as the double-shift system of education.

Kitebi SS, is a fairly academically strong day secondary school owned by the Government. The school is located in Nalukolongo, in a heavily populated area, with few top-performing schools; a reason why it is highly populated.

He took over the school, used the available sh300m collected from the parents' contribution of sh50,000 per child, and constructed additional 10 classrooms, a teacher's toilets and quarters- housing at least three teachers, a modern kitchen, stores and a bigger and organised headteachers' office.

He also helped finalize the fencing of the school and set up a gate. He did all this is a record two months, which concluded last year.

It is on this basis, that the Commissioner for Human Resource education ministry, Jane Mwesigwa, tasked her team, to profile Kamulegeya.

"We did not give Kamulegeya a single cent. But he worked with the school's board of governors and the parents to ensure that they raise money to put up these structures and change the school's operations in just two months. This is extra-ordinary," she said.

"I'm asking my team, to profile you, and know your work ethics. I will also discuss this issue with my colleagues at the ministry, to use you as a role model to all headteachers. You make a turn-around, wherever we post you and you are always willing to be transferred. You are a unique headteacher," she added.

She thanked him for supporting the Government programmes, with his own creativity and innovativeness. "We need more headteachers like you who think outside the box. You will greatly help this Government," she added.

"I want you to help other headteachers, who may have problems and need solutions. Instead of lamenting, you offer solutions. That is what we need!" he added, amidst thousands of parents who had converged in the school compound, to witness how their funds had been utilised to revamp the school.

She made the remarks, in her speech during the launch of the new buildings; a function she officiated on behalf of the education ministry's permanent secretary.

The function was also attended by the chairperson of the education service commission, Rev. Prof. Dr. Samuel Luboga Abimelech. He said, "Great work needs to be appreciated."

"Kamulegeya has done well within just months. How much more will be done in the coming years? We need committed people like him to be role models to the rest of our workforce. I'm impressed by his speed, his ability to team up with the people around him, and the love for his work," he noted.

The chairperson of the board, Lubega Aloysious, thanks Kamulegeya, for being a hardworking and a good team leader. "He prefers to be called a team leader and not headteacher. Indeed, he is a good team leader. He loves innovation and honesty and we trust him."

Kamulegeya, in his remarks, thanked the Permanent Secretary Alex Kakooza and the entire team for trusting him to make the difference, wherever they post him. "Thank you for having faith in me," he noted.

He said that his achievements are always built on working with supportive staff and parents, alongside committed school boards. He also thanked the former headteachers for putting up great stepping stones, from which he has managed to revamp the school.

He explained, "I want to continue working with parents, teachers and the board members, to make this school a model day school in the Kampala city. This is an assignment I'm determined to achieve," he says.

"I was focused on ensuring that by the time the team opened, I had enough classrooms to handle the new O'level curriculum," he explains.

As the term opened, the school had been re-organised.

He had turned the school, from a double shift, to a single shift school, and it was more organised than it was when he joined it.

We are going to refurbish all the buildings and set up new infrastructure to support the school's operations.

He adds, "A great school is always built on a good culture and a strong sense of discipline. We are going to ensure that this is done, in the shortest time possible," he explains.

He also wants to improve the schools' academic performance and their prowess in sports. "We must offer holistic education and we must be among the best in the country, in a given period of time."

His past performance

He found the Kibuli secondary school in turmoil and many feared for its academic performance, thinking it would decline and drop out of the country's best performing schools. He was made the acting headteacher at Kibuli SS in 2008, to fill the void of an interdicted headteacher, who was facing a chain of accusations.

He took the school through a storm, re-assembled the staff, rebuilt its image and gave it a safe sense of direction. He managed to keep its performance high, improved its infrastructure with new public toilets, competing the girls' dormitory, staff room and headteachers, and also paid off squatters on the school land. He also helped the school remain a top academic performer, among the top 50 schools in the country.

A couple of years ago, he was made a substantive headteacher and sent to rebuild Kakira High School, in Jinja. It is from this school, that he got to join Kitebi SS.

This is a Government school, donated by the Madhvani group. The school needed to be rebuilt. His assignment is to make it a model Universal Secondary Education (USE) school in the country.

With just a couple of months at the school, he had managed to utilise about sh20m from the school's account and has completed a new administrative block, refurbished extra offices for the staff members with administrative roles, and a multi-purpose shade to be used for meetings and shade for the school bus.

A students' hostel, a kitchen, conference room, a food store, and better water-borne toilets were some of the projects he had in offing, but he was later transferred to Kitebi SS in Kampala.