NAMUTAMBA SECONDARY SCHOOL – A BENEFICIARY OF UPPET/APL1 PROJECT FUNDS

The road to the School

The road as it enters the School compound

Some of the School blocks

A student reading at School - note, the place has rocky surface

Students outside their classroom

Part of the compound

In class While reading through the New Vision newspaper of Monday, November 26, 2012, I came across a Press Release on Page 24 & 25 by the Ministry of Education and Sports: Uganda Post primary Education and Training Program – UPPET/APL1 Project; and what was most interesting is that Namutamba Secondary School featured among the beneficiary schools and the Head teacher is expected to be among those to offer accountability at Kololo Secondary School on Monday, 10th December 2012 starting at 9.00am. WHY WAS I PARTICULARLY IMPRESSED? I recall in 1984, I was approached by the Late Bakka who was at Namutamba Tea Estate, and he requested me to help the parents of Namutamba community revive Namutamba Secondary School. It is true that in the early 1970’s, this had existed at Butumbizi Parish Church grounds, but failed in sustainability. I responded positively and offered services for one term as head of the team in 1984, before I left to eventually take up a post as Trainee Accountant in Uganda Commercial Bank. While my stay was very short, great credit goes to my father the Late Besuel Kiwanuka, he was able to take on headship for no monetary rewards till he retired from the teaching service at Namutamba Teachers’ College. When I visited the school after many years in 2011, I was shocked to learn that 27 years later, the school had not acquired HSC status. This was a drawback and I really longed for an opportunity to have some input to boost the school for I believe a student should be able to study at Namutamba up to Form Six, and again with community mobilization, we should be able to see these students get post Secondary Education in vocational fields. I wish to caution the Management at Namutamba Secondary School that Namutamba had been founded on Christian morals and some of us are still alive to see these morals sustained on. It is very important to see the School Administration live to the expectation of the founders of Namutamba a centre of not only excellence at training teachers, but also at education of children at Namutamba Demonstration School and the Christian Revival which had a lot of ground at Namutamba. There are so many people in administration who have misused the opportunities they have had to serve the people of Uganda. They have seen the opportunity like this one as chance to loot and declare false accountability, but later, the structures put up have been able to expose these people. Pit latrines a re a good case in point in a number of primary schools around the country. There is all the hope that unlike elsewhere, at Namutamba, those in-charge of the management and supervision of the UPPET/APL1 Funds will not be a source of shame to the good name Namutamba earned the hard way through the moral efforts of our parents. We look forward to value for money. William Kituuka Kiwanuka