(This article was first published in the New Vision on September 28, 2022)
By Andrew Masinde
Inside a Senior Four classroom at Mbale Secondary School, Victoria Bagaya, a teacher of English and Literature sits at a desk on a Friday afternoon to take questions from students.
One by one, the students raise their hands to ask questions as Bagaya answers them. It is the third term and Bagaya is conducting a revision session to prepare Senior Four candidates for the Uganda Certifi cate of Education (UCE) exams.
She holds these sessions in the third term to promote reading and improve performance in Literature. This strategy, some of her learners say, has made them fall in love with English and Literature.
“She (Bagaya) usually sits at the back of the class and every student freely walks to her for guidance,” Mary Nekesa, one of the Senior Four students, says.
Jovia Khwaka, a Senior Six student, says she is studying Literature because of the career advice Bagaya offered her.
“She is always there to guide us inside and outside class,” she adds.
Literature was not taught at Mbale SS until 1996 when Bagaya was posted there as a teacher of English. She asked the administration to allow her introduce Literature to improve learning.
“There were eight streams for Senior One and two. I was young and because of the love for teaching, I offered to teach them all and the reading culture and performance in English improved,” Bagaya says.
However, there was a shortage of novels to effectively teach the subject. To address this, Bagaya encouraged the school and parents to purchase learning materials for their children.
“I photocopied learning materials for the students who could not buy their own,” she adds.
When Bagaya was transferred to Bukoli College in Bugiri district in 2004, she says she was asked to head the Literature department although only two students in the entire school were taking the subject.
She says she was also the only Literature teacher at the school.
“I requested the administration to hire another Literature teacher and our two students passed Literature at A’ level,” Bagaya says.
Inspiration
Fred Wokuri, a former student at Mbale Secondary School, who is now a teacher of English at another school, says Bagaya inspired him to join the teaching profession.
Bagaya says she introduced the debating and writers’ clubs, which promoted debate and essay writing competitions. She also engaged the parents in their children’s learning by inviting them to school to witness the competitions.
Teaching Aids
Bagaya, who was transferred to Wiggins Secondary School in Kumi district in 2008, did not only focus on teaching, but also used her position as the teachers’ representative on the board of governors to improve the welfare of the teaching staff.
She also used this position to lobby the school to procure more textbooks and desks to aid teaching and learning.
She adds that she also introduced the reading and debating clubs at the school to cultivate interest in Literature and English.
In 2011, Bagaya was transferred to Katakwi High School in Katakwi district where she introduced Literature. Like all her previous schools, there were insufficient teaching materials.
“I remember using half my salary for the first month to photocopy reading materials for my learners,” Bagaya says.
Jonathan Ariko, one of her former students at Katakwi High School, says he could not study Literature, a subject he was interested in until Bagaya was deployed to the school.
Extra Lessons
In 2014, Bagaya was sent back to Mbale Secondary School. This time around, she was also appointed to head the English department. She introduced an extra hour of learning English and Literature in the morning and evening.
She also encouraged learners to produce a collection of poems as a way of helping them develop creativity and critical thinking capabilities.
She explains that she taught 130 students who had access to smartphones and computers using the Zoom video platform during the COVID-19 lockdown between August 2020 and December 2022.
Bagaya says she also helped her colleagues use the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation programme, which is one of the ideal programmes for delivering content for online learning.
Kasimu Magombe, the head of the department of Islamic Religious Education at Mbale Secondary School, says online learning seemed impossible for many teachers until they discovered how Bayaga used digital tools to teach.
“She trained us how to set up Zoom classes, create PowerPoint presentations and share notes with learners,” he says.
When she was transferred back to Mbale Secondary School in 2005, she picked up from where she left off, developing professional relationships with learners and encouraging them to seek advice from her to improve their academic performance.
Engaging Parents
Bagaya explains that she contacted parents and encouraged them to send their children back to school when the schools reopened. “I helped three girls who had babies during the lockdown to get back to school,” she adds.
What Others Say About Bagaya
Mohamed Mugoya, Inspector of Schools, Mbale city
She has championed the teaching of English and Literature in Mbale. She is hardworking, innovative, result-oriented and down-to-earth. It is rare to find all these qualities in one person.
Adam Nashimu, parent
Bagaya understands her learners and does not want them to miss lessons. Even if they have not cleared school dues, she asks the bursar to allow them to attend classes.
James Danga, deputy headteacher
Bagaya is the architect of literature at Mbale Secondary School. She has used Literature to improve reading. She is innovative and promotes teamwork.
Joan Mercy Wataka, Literature and English teacher
The team spirit she introduced allows us to work together to help students excel.
Bagaya’s Factfile
- 1986: Wrote Primary Leaving Examinations at Namuhuga Kilembe Mines Primary School, Kasese district 1991: Sat Uganda Certifi cate of Education (UCE) exams at Mary Hill High School, Mbarara
- 1992: Sat Uganda Advanced Certifi cate of Education at Kyebambe Girls Secondary School, Kabarole district
- 1994: Graduated as a Literature and English teacher from National Teachers Collage, Masindi
- 1996-2004: Started teaching at Mbale Secondary School
- 2004-2005: Started teaching at Bukoli College, Bugiri
- 2005: Graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education from Makerere University
- 2005-2008: Taught at Mbale Secondary School
- 2008-2011: Taught at Wiggins Secondary School, Kumi
- 2011-2014: Started teaching at Katakwi High School, Katakwi
- 2014 to date: Teaching at Mbale Secondary School.
