The State Minister of Finance (General Duties), Henry Musasizi, has once again distributed brand new mattresses to over 100 pupils who performed best in the 2023 Primary Leaving Exams (PLE).
Minister Musasizi, who also serves as the Rubanda East MP and NRM Chairperson for Rubanda District, has been rewarding PLE’s best performers with mattresses each year. He states that the intention is to formally recognize school children who work hard to achieve good results and to encourage lower-class students to aim for better grades.
Every year, each Rubanda East P.7 candidate who scores Division 1 receives a mattress from Musasizi as they prepare to transition to secondary school. Yesterday, over 100 pupils selected from Bubare Subcounty, Bubare Town Council, Hamuhambo Town Council, Hamurwa Subcounty, Hamurwa Town Council, and Nyamweru Subcounty received mattresses as a reward for scoring Division 1 in the 2023 PLE exams.
The pupils gathered at distribution centers with their parents in their respective sub-counties. Political leaders and headteachers also attended the distribution events.
Pius Tumwesigye, the Bubare Subcounty LC.3 Chairperson, noted a significant increase in the number of mattresses being distributed each year. He attributed this increase partly to the pupils’ desire to perform better and to receive mattresses from their area MP.
“In the initial years, Hon. Musasizi would purchase only 5-10 mattresses for the entire Bubare Subcounty, but now, we see a car full of mattresses. This demonstrates the impactfulness of his program on the pupils,” Tumwiine said.
Mbabazi Andrew, the Headteacher of Rweere Primary School, mentioned that Minister Musasizi had also been procuring pre-mock exams for all primary schools in Rubanda East. He added that this significantly contributed to the success of some schools in Rubanda East that achieved good grades.
“Every second term of the academic year, our P.7 candidates take exams procured by Hon. Musasizi. These exams help us assess the readiness of the pupils to sit for mock exams, which precede the PLE,” Mbabazi said.
Despite being run under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) Program, Rweere P.S posted six in Division I, 22 in Division II, and only 3 in Division III in the 2023 PLE.
The Hamurwa Town Council Mayor, Teddy Tumwesigye, inaugurated the distribution of mattresses for Hamurwa Town Council. In her speech, Ms. Tumwesigye thanked Minister Musasizi for continuously rewarding the best PLE performers, stating that it also helped alleviate the burden of school requirements faced by parents.
William Rusinga, a parent from Kataraga Cell in Hamuhambo Town Council, utilized the opportunity to urge teachers to prevent secondary school-bound pupils from engaging in misconduct such as school truancy, alcohol consumption, fornication, and other behaviors that could adversely affect their academic performance.
Meanwhile, the Bubare Town Council Mayor, Gerald Rukira, requested Minister Musasizi to consider extending the mattress program to secondary schools, starting with the S.4 candidates who excel in the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams.
“We have witnessed the effectiveness of this program in motivating primary school children to perform well. Though I’m unsure about the availability of resources, I humbly pray that the Honorable Minister extends this program to secondary schools, as I believe it could lead to better results at S.4,” Rukira said.
