Bwema Seed Secondary School Parents at one of the new blocks after attending an emergency meeting
Parents of Bwema Seed Secondary School in Buvuma District have petitioned the Ministry of Education, expressing their disillusionment over the recent sacking of volunteer teachers who have been instrumental in the school’s growth.
The 24 teachers, who have been teaching at the school since its inception six years ago, were dropped and replaced with new staff members, sparking fears that the recruits may not be willing to serve in the hard-to-reach island district.
The Bwema Seed Secondary School was born out of necessity and established after the government promised to provide a secondary school for Bwema Sub County in Buvuma District.
In anticipation, parents mobilized and constructed makeshift structures to start a secondary school which was lacking in the area. Since 2019, the school has grown from just two pioneer students to over 160 and the school’s first cohort of Uganda Certificate of Education candidates passed well last year, despite sitting for exams at another school, Buvuma College, due to the lack of an examination centre number.
In an emergency parents meeting on Wednesday, the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) chairperson, Mr Paul Ssempijja, expressed dismay that the volunteer teachers have not been considered for recruitment into the new staff structure despite their contribution over the years.
“We have seen those 24 teachers struggling to see the school function and mobilising the parents to have their children enrolled, but, surprisingly, all were dropped,” he said.
Angry parents say if their request to retrain existing teachers is not considered, they will abandon the new Shs4 billion buildings constructed by the government and return to the makeshift structures.
“We rather shift to the makeshift structures and run our school than entrust our children with people we don’t know,” Mr Ssempijja said.
The chairman of Bwema sub-county, Mr Richard Tusiime, revealed that the area has long struggled with absentee civil servants who use the islands as a gateway into civil service and ask for transfers shortly after deployment.
“The teachers who have been volunteering at the school have the academic qualifications, why are they[ government] not considering them?” he asked.
Mr Boaz Kiwuluka, the chairperson of the school Board of Governors, urged parents to remain calm as they engage officials in the Ministry of Education.
“I know our people are hurt by the decision taken but I advise them not to interrupt the operations of the school as we talk to authorities over the matter,” he said
Mr Hussein Bugembe, the Buvuma District education officer, said they have repeatedly reported cases of absenteeism, abscondment among teachers recruited from Kampala.
“Only 60 per cent of teachers posted to Buvuma report to their duty stations, and many request transfers within six months, leaving learners and parents in distress. This is why we have recommended that interviews be conducted locally to give applicants a clearer understanding of the duty post,” he said.
On the sacked teachers, Mr Bugembe said only eight of the 24 have been shortlisted for interviews despite years of unpaid service.
“We pray that this issue is quickly sorted out and interviews conducted before schools reopen for the second term,” he said.
Attempts to get a comment from Dr Denis Mugimba, the Ministry of Education spokesperson, had not yielded results by press time despite several phone calls and texts to his known telephone number.
Buvuma boasts of five secondary schools of which three (Buvuma College School, Nairambi Seed SS, Bwema Seed SS ) are public, while St. Mary’s Secondary School and Lingira Living Hope Secondary School are private.