(This article was first published in the New Vision on August 24, 2022)
By Wilson Asiimwe
Bishop Rwakaikara Primary School is one of the biggest and oldest primary schools in Kagadi district. Located in Kagadi town, it is the only school with a unit for special needs children in the district.
When Francis Mugisa was posted to head the school in 2015, it had 47 children with special needs.
As a priest who has served in different parts of the district and currently serving at St Luke Church of Uganda in Kagadi town, Mugisa knew there were many children with special needs in the community. He says many were not attending school.
Mugisa, who had just been transferred from Munsa Primary School in Kagadi, devised a mobilisation strategy for parents with special needs children to send them to school.
He says he visited households with special needs children as a headteacher and priest to advise parents to send them to school.
During his sermons on Sundays, Mugisa says he implored parents to send children with disabilities to school, telling them that they need to be accorded the same oppotunities as other children.
He says he also told parents that such children can be as productive as others once they are educated. He told parents that that allows them to “accept themselves and live positively”.
“Some parents still look at these children as a curse. I wanted to change this mindset,” Mugisa adds.
Numbers Increase
This is reflected in the growing population of special needs children at the school. Just one year after becoming the school’s headteacher, the population grew to 126 in 2016 and 187 in 2017.
It increased to 198 in 2018 and 200 in 2019. Today, 231 of the 1,179 learners at the school are children with visual and hearing impairments.
Although he is an administrator, Mugisa interacts with special needs children like their teacher.
Whenever Mugisa spotted a child with disabilities around the school compound during the interview, he excused himself from our discussion to interact with them. He calls them by their names.
The headteacher says the Government supplies materials for teaching special needs children, like computers and braille, but that he makes an effort to lobby organisations and individuals to supplement them.
The school has seven teachers for special needs learners. It also has five sign language interpreters — three of these are paid for by the Government while two are taken care of by the school.
Mugisa says he has mobilised organisations to donate sanitary products to all girls in the school.
To alleviate the movement difficulties that the special needs children endure as they commute from home to school, Mugisa has encouraged parents to send them to the school’s boarding section. Out of the 400 boarders, he says, 211 are children with special needs. The parents pay sh50,000 per child each term for meals.
“With the contributions from the parents, I have recruited staff who understand sign language and can communicate with these children in the dormitories,” he adds.
Special Needs Children Choir
To involve special needs children in school activities, Mugisa says he has organised them into a choir.
Mugisa says they use sign language to “sing” during the school’s events as the messages in their songs are translated into words for the audience. Both these children and their non-disabled peers sing during events, like speech days.
“We have choir trainers for both groups. We have two categories of choirs. Special needs children feel marginalised if they are not involved,” Mugisa says. He adds that involving these children in school activities makes them feel included and unlocks their talents to lead dignified and productive lives.
“We also have children with special needs on our school netball and volleyball teams. Children with hearing impairments can play very well,” he adds.
All the pupils, according to Mugisa, are encouraged to participate in weaving, tailoring and carpentry courses for practical skills.
Academic Performance
Mugisa has devoted a substantial amount of attention to improving the academic performance of the school. According to the records, two of the school’s Primary Leaving Exams candidates passed in Division One in 2013. The school had never had a candidate in Division One in 2014. Since 2015, the number of candidates passing in Division One has increased progressively from three (2015) to six (2016), 11 (2019) and 12 (2020).
To maintain the academic gains, Mugisa says, during the COVID-19- induced lockdown, he visited some teachers and learners to encourage them to revise their notes to keep themselves up to date. He says he also participated in distributing learning materials supplied by the Government during the lockdown to over 400 children.
“I invited parents to pick learning materials for their children from school,” he adds.
Mugisa says he also encourages teachers to conduct remedial lessons for the learners. He also mobilised the parents to send their children back to school when they reopened, during his sermons.
Others Speak
Bartholumeus Bukenya, Kagadi district education officer
It is one of our model institutions. Mugisa has kept the school running smoothly yet it gets only sh2.8m for special needs education per term.
Omukwenda Alinda, Kagadi district inspector of schools for special needs education
Mugisa is doing well and we are supporting him to ensure he delivers to the best of his abilities.
Geoffrey Businge, LC3 chairperson Kagadi town council
Mugisa is committed and he loves his job. He is a true servant of Christ.
Gloria Amanyire, parent of a child with special needs
He lobbies for our children to get quality education and scholastic materials. He recently installed a television set and solar power to ensure that the school has power at all times.
Grace Kansiime, teacher
He ensures that the school participates in co-curricular activities in the district. We sometimes host inter-district competitions.
Golden Tips
- Prioritise time management
- Love children
- Interact with learners to know their learning process
- Respect your colleagues
- Promote teamwork
Who Is Mugisa?
- 1982: Sat Primary Leaving Examinations at Naigana Primary School, Kagadi
- 1987: Sat Uganda Certificate of Education at Naigana Secondary School, Kagadi
- 1989: Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education at Duhaga Secondary School, Hoima
- 1996: Completed training at Duhaga Teacher Training College, Hoima (Grade Three Certificate)
- 2005: Graduated from National Teacher College, Masindi (Grade Five)
- 2010: Graduated with a degree in divinity and theology from Uganda Christian University. Ordained a priest and posted to All Saints Church, Kakumiro
- 2011-2014: Teacher at Munsa Primary School, Kagadi
- 2015 to date: Headteacher at Bishop Rwaikaikara Primary School
