(This article was first published in the New Vision on August 10, 2022)
By Maureen Nakatudde
Days after Joseph Mugeni took up his new teaching job at Waitambogwe Secondary School in Mayuge district in 2018, he was taken aback by the fact that many children had dropped out of the institution to work on sugarcane farms.
He took it upon himself to mobilise the children to return to school, telling them that the menial work on the sugarcane farms was temporary, but education was the surest way of securing their future.
“I told them that while they felt that they had energy as children to work on the plantations, they will not have the same energy in the future, and that only education and skills will get them jobs and money in old age,” Mugeni says.
Following his intervention, in the same year, at least 30 students who had dropped out of this school located in Baitambogwe sub-county, resumed studies.
Mugeni says since then, he has continued to mobilise children who drop out to return to school, especially now that education institutions were reopened after a two-year COVID-19- induced lockdown.
“I have so far persuaded 50 children to return to school. Twenty of these returned to the school where I teach. The others rejoined the other schools in my community,” he adds.
Mugeni says when he noticed that some children had “remained in the villages” two weeks after schools reopened, he encouraged their parents to send them back.
“There were children in Nsinda, Bugolole, Lukoni, Namagera and Waitambogwe villages who were not going to school. I realised that some had gone back to the sugarcane plantations and were selling snacks by the roadside,” he says, adding that he also convinced four girls who had “gotten married” during the pandemic to return to school.
Giving Hope
Mugeni says some of the learners who had dropped out of school thought the institutions would be closed again once the virus flared up, but he convinced them by telling them that “things had normalised”.
He says the student population, which was 450 at Waitambogwe Secondary School in 2015, is now 1,017, partly due to his mobilisation efforts.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Mugeni says he helped some of the students to study with the learning materials that were distributed by the Government.
“I also gave them assignments and marked them,” he adds.
Co-Curricular Activities
For co-curricular activities, Mugeni says because of his love for sports, the school administration placed him in charge of organising the Senior Four class football team. With his effort, he says his team won the school’s inter-class football competition last term.
Mugeni says he enjoys this role because it builds the students’ resilience and ability to collaborate with their peers.
To deal with the challenge of inadequate classrooms, Mugeni says he splits his classes and assigns them different tasks at the same time.
“When one group is in the classroom doing academic work, I take the other group out to do practical projects, such as beekeeping. It helps me to ensure that none of them misses out on either classroom or project work,” he says.
Building Interest In Agriculture
Mugeni, who teaches agriculture, says he noticed that many of the students across all classes were disinterested in his subject, reason being that they believed the subject did not “command respect”. According to the students, agriculture, which involves growing crops and rearing animals, is a “dirty” job.
To change the students’ negative attitude towards agriculture, Mugeni says he repeatedly told the learners how he raised money for scholastic materials from the sale of his pigs and vegetables while he was in school.
“I told them that I started rearing pigs when I was 14 years old, after realising that my mother could not give me all necessities. I told them a story of how I raised 25 pigs from one piglet I bought in 1998 at sh15,000 and how it changed my life,” he adds.
Mugeni also says he told the learners about how he supplemented his earnings from the sale of pigs with proceeds from vegetables.
“I tell them that even as a teacher, I supplement my salary with earnings from the farm and that I never lacked pocket money or scholastic materials while still at school,” he says.
Mugeni adds that around 30 students, who were inspired by his story, started rearing pigs and growing vegetables and used the proceeds from the sale of their farm products to buy scholastic materials. He says he also gives the students information about the prices of various agricultural products in the market.
“These students no longer struggle to get scholastic materials, clothes and shoes,” Mugeni adds.
Practical Lessons
Mugeni and his students now run a demonstration garden on less than an acre of the school’s land. The garden has vegetables, maize, bananas and fruit trees, such as pawpaws.
“In 2008, only 27 students were doing agriculture in Senior Four. Today, 132 students out of the 140 in the same class are now doing agriculture.
Mugeni, who says he opens each lesson with examples of the signifi cance of agriculture to the sustenance of human life, uses the demonstration garden to deliver practical lessons.
He says he has improved the school’s academic performance by encouraging students to work hard to pass all the subjects.
For instance, the school, whose Uganda Certifi cate of Education candidates had not passed in Division One since 2016, had one last year, according to the school’s records.
“The number of students who got credits also increased to 62 in 2021 from 34 the previous year.
“I keep telling students that they need to pass all subjects because passing one may not help them get their dream jobs or careers,” Mugeni says.
As one of the senior male teachers, Mugeni says he advises boys against engaging in sexual relations with girls since the act could ruin their lives.
What Others Say
Irene Nakasoma, Student
I have never gotten less than 70% since he started teaching me agriculture. He is practical.
Subaha Sserwada, Student
I started rearing pigs when he talked to us about piggery. I no longer find trouble getting scholastic requirements.
Aggrey Kindire, Headteacher
His subject is one of the best done and he has helped many students to become productive by rearing animals and growing food.
Joyce Adikini, Parent
We could hardly keep our children in school because we could not afford scholastic materials. We now have money to buy them from the sale of our farm products.
Eriyah Misanga, Councillor
He has mobilised many children to return to school. We consult him on farming.
Fact File
- 1996: Sat Primary Leaving Examinations at Kitovu Primary School, Mayuge district
- 2000: Did Uganda Certificate of Education at Waitabomgwe SS, Mayuge district
- 2002: Did Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education at Iganga SS, Iganga district
- 2005: Completed secondary school teacher training at Iganga Greenfield Teachers Training School
- 2007: Launched teaching career at King of Kings SS, Iganga
- 2008 to date: Teacher at Waitambogwe SS, Mayuge
