Mulatsi Senior Secondary School, which serves the districts of Mbale and partially Manafwa, is located about 10 kilometers from Mbale City on the Mbale-Lwakhakha Highway in Bukiende Subcounty. It is a Church of Uganda school.
The headteacher of the school, Mr. Peter Samanya, assumed leadership three years ago and says he has transformed the school from its previous state to where it is now, thanks to the team spirit with other administrators. “You can’t run a school alone.
I have ensured that everyone in the school contributes to the well-being of our learners, including our sanitary officers, kitchen staff, students, parents, board members, PTA, teachers, and the headmaster. We run this school jointly, and each of us has a role to play,” said Mr. Samanya.
The headteacher adds that the school has achieved impressive performance through the adoption of student-based learning. Recently, the school board lobbied the government to allocate additional staff, and staffing is no longer a problem.
Some students this publication spoke to about the story said they have become experts in ICT, as the school has incorporated ICT into all lessons. This has encouraged students to take personal initiative in research across all disciplines. “This is a student-centered curriculum,” insists Mr. Samanya.
The headteacher also emphasized the importance of the well-established counseling and guidance system in the school, which has contributed to improved discipline within the school and the surrounding community.
The spokesperson for the Inzuyamasaba, Mr. Steven Masiga, says the role of the cultural institution, as envisioned by the government, is to support all government programs, including education. “The Umukuka is mandated by the Constitution of Uganda and the Cultural Leaders Act to mobilize his subjects to benefit from both UPE and USE, as well as other government educational programs.
We are now actively mobilizing our people to learn, and we intend to push local governments to create bylaws and ordinances that will make it punitive for those who fail to send their children to school,” he said.
The Umukuka is also slated to tour all schools in Masabaland to assess the success of UPE and USE within his kingdom.
