By our Reporter in Mbale City (UG)
Many young men who are now serving as headteachers and headmasters of government secondary schools are products of the National Resistance Movement’s policies and programs, especially the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and now the Universal Secondary Education (USE).
The successes that Mbale High School has registered recently in the UCE National exams can be connected to this narrative.
The school has focused on teaching and mentoring learners, producing well-rounded students in areas ranging from cognitive and physical development to psychomotor skills.
Under the leadership of the current headteacher, Mr. Wambalo Stephen, the school has managed to eliminate strikes by counseling learners. Before Mr. Wambalo’s deployment in 2019, previous headteachers had made the school a breeding ground for strikes. However, with his entry into the leadership, the issue of strikes is now a thing of the past. The spokesperson of the Inzuyamasaba, Steven Masiga, says that the police post, which had been established around the school to address the persistent strikes, has since been removed due to the newfound peace and tranquility among learners.
The Ministry of Education has done commendably in supporting the school by constructing new classroom units, and plans are at an advanced stage to expand the school’s land by acquiring neighboring structures from an old school nearby.
A survey conducted by the headmaster’s office at Mbale High School revealed that many of its former finalists from 2020, 2021, and 2022 are now nearing the completion of their degrees in medicine, pharmacy, and engineering from various universities in Uganda. Mr. Wambalo Stephen, having benefited from many of the educational programs under the NRM, is determined to ensure that by 2030, the alumni of Mbale High School will be present in every sector of Uganda as engineers, medical doctors, and pharmacists, in line with the government’s current policy on sciences.
“As a cultural institution, our work is to mobilize our people to consume all government programs, whether educational or health-related,” he said. “We are impressed with the leadership of Mbale High School for prioritizing science teaching and, above all, focusing on the teaching of our native language, Lumasaaba.”
Umukuka and his entire cabinet are committed to mobilizing Bamasaba children to study not only at Mbale High School but also across all schools in Masabaland. “We are fully comfortable with the variety of methods used by the leadership of Mbale High School to promote learning,” he added.
The headmaster of Mbale High School says he is fully adhering to all instructions and guidance from the government in running the school. “That is why we have been able to eliminate strikes, which had previously disrupted learning.
We have ensured good discipline, which has resulted in the current improved scores, with the majority of our learners achieving As in the recent UCE exams,” he said. “We have paired students in groups, and we also introduced role models, inviting senior Bamasaba to inspire our learners. Debates are meant to sharpen our children for future responsibilities. The current Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Anita Among, was once a student here. She used to sit in that corner, according to our records.”
