Students of Old Kla SS on strike recently

OLD Kampala Senior Secondary School has today Monday July 24, 2017 witnessed a change of leadership of the school following wrangles that had threatened to tire the school apart pitting some teachers and Old student’s association against the out-going head teacher Azida Ntegana Nsubuga.

The rivalry had culminated into a student strike last week that turned ugly when a police officer fired live bullets seriously inquiring one student leading the ministry to temporarily close the school as they investigate further.

The ministry has however, responded by appointing James Mulomi, the outgoing headteacher of Budiope SS, to run it with support from the Ministry and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) for unspecified period. The school is expected to re-open on Wednesday this week with parents coming along with their children as a condition for re-admission, according to recommendations of a probe committee in its final report.

Reports indicated that the students on July 13, 2017 staged a strike in the school protesting the transfer of their head teacher Ntegana .The students who gathered in the school compound with placards later became rowdy vandalizing school property before police was called in to quell the situation.

Following the closure of the school on July 14, Robinson Nsumba-Lyazi the director for basic and secondary education, set up a seven member probe committee to investigate the circumstances that led to the strike.

The committee members included; David Esuku from KCCA, John Kiwanuka (Internal Security Organisation), ASP Grace Nyangoma (Police), and Florence Anguzu. Others are Daniel Amanyire,Mary Ntete Gunteese  and Frances Atima- all officials from the ministry of education.

According to the Observer Newspaper, a final investigation report compiled by the team, has implicated some teachers and Old Kampala Students Association (OKOSA) Leaders of working against each other in the affairs of the school.

The report says one teacher, Ivan Mbowa, who is also a warden at the boy’s hostel, mobilized students as early as 3am to demonstrate against the Minsitry of Education’s decision to transfer the school headteacher Azida Ntegana Nsubuga.

“Students from this hostel located outside the school moved towards the school in the wee hours carrying placards reading No Azida, No Rice, among others,” the report says.

The final report suggested that student leaders also accused some teachers of working in cohorts with some executive members of the Old Kampala Students Association (OKOSA) to undermine the outgoing head teacher.

A classroom block at Old Kampala SS

The students further said deputy head teachers Godfrey Ssekandi and Juliet Nesakya played a key role in aggravating the strike.

“Students say their peaceful demonstration degenerated into a strike after Ssekandi and Nesakya started beating them indiscriminately,” the report reads in part.

However, a source at the school who spoke on condition of anonymity denied such allegations from the students.

“This report is largely wrong. These deputies have been fabricated. It’s sacrificing Mbowa whose role is clear but setting free the head teacher who ordered Mbowa to do what he did,” the source says.

The report also accuses Nesakya of casually stating that she did not care if the injured (striking) students died”.

The committee found out that the transfer of Ntegana was well received by the majority of the teachers although most students and support staff were unhappy with the ministry’s decision and timing of the transfer.

“Student leaders expressed dissatisfaction with the transfer being done in the middle of the term and they felt they had the right to know why she (Ntegana) was transferred,” the report further reads.

OKOSA, NTEGANA WOES

According to the report, Old Kampala has had leadership challenges since the transfer of the former headteacher and old student Emmanuel Mukasa who has resisted a move to Entebbe Comprehensive SS in 2015.

“The entry of Ms Ntegana was not welcomed by a section of old students and teachers right from the beginning,” noted the report.

“Later, disagreements emerged between old students and the board of governors which widened the gap between OKOSA and the head teacher.”

Efforts by the ministry and KCCA to address the disagreements on accountability, governance and proposed capital development projects at the school did not yield much, the Observer further notes.

OKOSA has an office in the school and is managed by a coordinator, who is not an employee of the school.The committee concluded that the office be closed immediately.

During the committee’s interaction with Ntegana, she alleged that OKOSA members; notably, Leonard Egesa and Patrick Musinguzi destabilized her top management.

“Although some teachers interviewed were in support of OKOSA office, students claimed they don’t receive any support from it (office) and instead, it is their money (10,000 imposed on every candidate) which supports the association,” says the report.

“The office lacks accountability and transparency for the student’s money”.

Some student leaders and a section of of teachers accused some OKOSA members of using  social media to incite violence and blackmail teachers, students and old students who do not support them.

This also caused unrest among students, leading to the strike.

With time, Ntegana filed for a transfer but she was surprised when it came in the middle of the term. The committee didn’t hear from the OKOSA executive because they declined to appear before it on the scheduled date of July 19.

“They indicated that they can only meet the committee after receiving a formal invitation (today) Monday, July 24,” the report noted.

The probe committee in its conclusion of findings hence recommended that Mbowa’s role in the strike should further be investigated and an appropriate action be taken against him.

The committee also said the two deputies- Ssekandi and Nesakya –should be transferred before the school reopens on Wednesday.

“Students should be invited back at school in a phased manner starting with the candidate classes on the first day, S3 and S5 on the second day and finally S1 and S2 on the third day,” the Observer reports in its concluding article.

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Students gathered in the school compound before violence broke out

Old Kampala Senior Secondary School has been closed by Police over a student’s strike that turned violent. Students are protesting against the transfer of their headmistress, Ms Aziida Nsubuga Ntegane, by the Ministry of Education and Sports.

Reports indicated that some students were injured in the process when police fired in the air to disperse a crowd that had gathered at the main block of the school.

Police say they are investigating the incident that paralyzed studying at one of the oldest schools in the country.

However, some teachers who spoke on condition of anonymity have accused Ms Nsubuga of instructing teachers loyal to her to mobilise students to protest against her transfer.

“Yesterday she came into the staff room just when we were having our lunch and accused teachers for being behind her woes,” said a teacher quoting from what headmistress had said.

The source says the school has now been divided between teachers and students who are loyal to the headmistress pitying those against her administrative style.

The teachers have also accused Nsubuga of intimidating them accusing them of making allegations about her to the Ministry of Education and Sports over the recent illegal sell of school properties including land.

“I have experienced a lot of hatred from you people and I wonder what I did to you. I am going but in case anyone celebrates my departure, they will feel my weigh,” Nsubuga is quoted to have further said, adding, “I hope you are aware that Iddi Amin was at the border of Uganda but still commanded her troops. I still in charge and those you who are defiant, I will just instruct the Ministry to send some of you away like they did in Makerere College”.

The school has been a center of contention in the past year especially over land related issues where management has previously been accused of selling school properties including land to a local bus company.

The teachers further want an independent investigation to be carried out on the school.

Nsubuga, however, in an earlier statement denied allegations of selling school land saying a decision to lease part of the school land was reached by the board which gave part of the land to Volcano Ltd a company that wanted to establish a bus terminal.

She also stated that the school needed funds to finance other projects such as fencing so as to improve on security.

Late last year, the Observer Newspaper reported of how Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago,had been sucked into the land controversy following a petition by Moses Kataabu, the lord councilor of Kampala Central II to the Education Minister, Janet Museveni, to stop the sale/lease of Old Kampala Secondary School land at Sh10bn.

A school block at Old Kampala SS

Kataabu in his letter had accused Lukwago of witnessing the transaction for the school to be leased through a firm that he owns i.e Lukwago & Co. Advocates.

However, Lukwago denied the involvement but instead called for the reversal of the deal who his partner had been part of.

Nsubuga took over the management of the school from Mr. Emmanuel Mukasa in 2015.

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