(This article was first published in the New Vision on September 7, 2022)
By Stephen Nuwagira
Jolly Mwebaze was posted as deputy headteacher to Kacu Primary School in Rubirizi district at the time when the institution was struggling with low morale among teachers and high cases of learner absenteeism.
The teachers had gone without pay for remedial and weekend classes for nearly three months. The cost of running the school, which is located in Katerera county, was going up, with the amount of arrears for services provided by contractors growing.
There were concerns that the money received by the school through the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) and other sources was not being properly utilised and accounted for.
So, as Mwebaze assumed her official role of deputy headteacher, she was requested to also serve as the bursar (in acting capacity) to help the institution implement financial reforms in order to raise over sh2m to pay teachers’ allowances and salaries for non-teaching staff.
Subsequently, the substantive bursar left and the school decided not to recruit a replacement as it did not have enough money.
Clearing Debts
According to the headteacher, Ayub Turyahika, with the PTA development funds collected by Mwebaze, who was deployed to the school in 2019, the institution paid all the teachers’ arrears and service providers. Four of the school’s 12 teachers are paid by the school, while the rest are on the government payroll.
“We performed all our activities and fulfilled our financial obligations using the PTA funds. Mwebaze saved sh150,000 in the first term of this year, which had never happened in many years. We used to collect and spend all the money and get into debts,” he says.
Turyahika explains that parents gave Mwebaze sh100,000 last term as a reward for her performance.
“No coin was unaccounted for by the end of the first term and the parents were happy,” he adds.
The conflict between the PTA and teachers, which arose due to non-payment of teachers’ salaries and allowances, has since been resolved.
Mwebaze, the classteacher for Primary One, says she juggled the roles of teacher and bursar effectively because they both facilitate learning.
“She was not distracted from her main job of teaching because she prioritises the learners’ welfare and education,” Turyahika says.
Boosting Teachers’ Morale
Mwebaze says the settlement of the teachers’ arrears and timely payment of their salaries and allowances has boosted their morale, which will, hopefully, result in improvement of the learners’ performance.
After paying the workers’ arrears, Mwebaze proposed that the school builds a 10,000-litre rain water harvesting tank to improve water security and hygiene at school. The sh32m facility was set up last year.
Mwebaze, who was teaching at Kirugu Muslim Primary School before her transfer to Kacu — both schools located in the same district — is credited with promoting discipline among students.
“When I joined Kacu, I realised that pupils escaped from school a lot. I worked with the headteacher to set tight rules against the vice and one time parents were shocked to find that classes were full of children when they came to the school for a PTA meeting,” she says.
The deputy headteacher says she has also encouraged pupils to wear uniform to school, which has encouraged more parents to send their children to the institution.
“There were 220 pupils when I was posted to Kacu and the number has since increased to 340 learners,” she says.
Devoted Teacher
Mwebaze believes that her devotion to teaching and discipline led to an improvement in Primary Leaving Examinations performance among Kirugu’s candidates in 2020. The improvement is also attributed to Mwebaze’s intolerance for absenteeism among pupils and teachers.
The teachers at Kacu subjected the pupils to corporal punishment as a way of enforcing discipline. However, when Mwebaze joined the school, she discouraged this form of punishment, telling teachers that it does not address the root causes of indiscipline among learners.
Instead, according to Rosette Asiimwe, another teacher, Mwebaze helped the teachers appreciate that corporal punishment is not a suitable form of promoting discipline and encouraged them to advise pupils against indiscipline.
“She sensitised us about the negative effects of corporal punishment,” Asiimwe adds.
School Dropout
Mwebaze, Asiimwe says, reached out to pupils who had dropped out of school due to corporal punishment and urged them to return to school.
“She went to their homes and talked with them and their parents and they were encouraged to return to school,” Asiimwe adds.
Mwebaze says she believes that the children can reform if they get assisted to understand the implications of their behaviour.
In her capacity as the deputy headteacher responsible for academics, Mwebaze participated in the distribution of government learning materials to learners during the COVID-19 lockdown. She says she also encouraged the learners she interacted with during the same period to revise their notes and the learning materials to keep themselves up to date.
When the schools reopened, Mwebaze says she moved to various villages, including Kacu, Katerera and Nyakagyezi, mobilising pupils to return to school. She adds that she also held special career guidance and counselling sessions to help the pupils get reintegrated into school.
Mwebaze says she facilitates teachers in charge of sports to mobilise pupils to take part in co-curricular activities as they are important for the learners’ health. She also encourages all learners to cultivate food in the school’s gardens, where they grow crops, such as beans, maize and bananas. In June, she was transferred back to Kirugu Muslim Primary School after spending almost three years at Kacu.
What Others Say
Denise Ainomugisha, pupil
She loves us and does not beat children. Shakib Ariho, pupil She teaches well. She has also taught me how to dance.
Sumaya Mwebaze, pupil
Mwebaze is jolly. She loves children and makes children active in class.
Abbas Baryanengwe, teacher
She inspired me to become a teacher when she taught me at Kirugu Muslim Primary School. She cared a lot about our learning. She taught all classes passionately and made me believe that teaching is the best job.
Mary Kyomugisha, Rubirizi district inspector of schools
She is a performer who leaves a mark wherever she is deployed. That is why she was promoted to the position of headteacher and parents love her.
Mwebaze’s Fact File
- 1984: Sat PLE at Ncucumo Primary School, Bushenyi
- 1988: Wrote UCE at Masheruka Secondary School, Sheema
- 1991: Graduated as a primary school teacher from Kitabi PTC
- 1992-2001: Teacher at Nyakahita Primary School, Mitooma n 2002-2007: Teacher at Rugyenda Primary School, Rubirizi
- 2007: Graduated with a diploma in primary education from Kampala International University
- 2008-2019: Deputy headteacher of Kirugu Muslim Primary School, Rubirizi
- 2020–June 2022: Deputy headteacher at Kacu Primary School
- June 2022 to date: Deputy headteacher at Kirugu Muslim Primary School.
Mwebaze’s Golden Tips
- Delegate responsibilities
- Be passionate about your work
- Build teamwork
- Promote selfless service
- Treat learners like your children
