The Universal Secondary Education (USE) school currently has an enrolment of about 2,800 students, a figure that has outgrown its existing facilities.
BY FRED MUZAALE
Authorities at Kigulu College in Namungalwe sub-county, Iganga District, are struggling to provide a conducive teaching and learning environment due to overcrowded classrooms, inadequate infrastructure and a severe shortage of desks that are disrupting daily learning activities.
The Universal Secondary Education (USE) school currently has an enrolment of about 2,800 students, a figure that has outgrown its existing facilities.
According to the head teacher, Rehema Rebecca Kasuubo, the available infrastructure, including classrooms, the science laboratory and the computer laboratory, can no longer adequately accommodate the growing student population.
Established in 1979 by the Anglican Church and taken over by the government in 1984, Kigulu College has built a strong academic reputation that has attracted increasing numbers of students over the years. However, infrastructure development has not kept pace with the rising enrolment.
“We are a USE-implementing school and are therefore not supposed to charge school fees. We have constructed six additional classrooms using locally mobilised resources and also received two classrooms from the district, but there is still a shortage of classrooms to accommodate the growing numbers,” Kasuubo said over the weekend.
The shortage has forced the school to seek support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which provided large tents that are now being used as temporary classrooms. Some students also study in makeshift structures made of timber, wood and iron sheets.
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Besides the shortage of classrooms, some of the school buildings are old and dilapidated and require urgent renovation, which the school cannot afford.
“When classes are overcrowded, the teaching and learning process is affected because both teachers’ and learners’ movements are restricted,” Kasuubo said.
She added that the school has written to the Ministry of Education and Sports seeking support.
“We do not have a main hall and the number of computers is inadequate. We are optimistic that we shall be assisted because the ministry has promised to come to our rescue when funds become available. This is a public school and we cannot stop any student who wants to join,” she said.
Kasuubo said the school needs about sh2 billion to begin constructing a multi-storeyed building that will house eight classrooms and administration offices to ease congestion.
She commended the government for providing textbooks and retraining teachers to implement the new curriculum.
The school has a staff of 65 teachers, of whom 40 are on the government payroll, while the remaining 25 are paid by the board of governors.
“If all my teachers were absorbed onto the government payroll, the money currently used by the board of governors to pay teachers would instead be invested in school development,” she said.
Despite the challenges, Kigulu College continues to register impressive academic performance.
Baker Kasadha, the Iganga Municipal Education Officer, said the school has consistently posted excellent results at both O-Level and A-Level.
“This year we have a limited budget and there are no plans to construct classrooms for the school. However, we have informed the relevant authorities about the congestion, and I believe something will be done,” Kasadha said.
He attributed the high enrolment to the confidence parents have in the school.
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Rev. Godfrey Wabukolo, the chairperson of the board of governors, said stakeholders are working together to create a more conducive learning environment.
Kasuubo joined Kigulu College in 2016 as deputy head teacher after transferring from Iganga High School, where she had been a teacher. She was promoted to head teacher in 2021.
Kigulu College is popularly known as “The Giant” in the Busoga sub-region because of its outstanding performance in academics and co-curricular activities. It is ranked among the best-performing USE schools in the region.
However, Kasuubo blamed the poor performance of many USE schools across the country on the negative attitude of some parents towards education.
“Some parents still do not fully understand the value of education. We continue to sensitise them, but we still have a lot of work to do to help them appreciate its importance,” she said.