MUKONO– The Commissioner for Secondary School Education in the Ministry of Education and Sports, Mrs. Juliet Muzoora, has called upon heads of Church of Uganda Education Institutions to focus on mentoring leaders to succeed them upon retirement or transfer.
According to Mrs. Muzoora, this can be achieved by identifying and supporting members of their teams to reach their full potential, ensuring a seamless transition in administration and continuity.
Addressing the Church of Uganda Heads of Education Institutions Association (COUHEIA) annual retreat at Uganda Christian University in Mukono, Mrs Muzoora encouraged Headteachers to be intentional and identify those to take over from them by encouraging them to do more educational courses, attend workshops, counseling them, and not putting them to public test.
Mrs. Muzoora also cautioned Headteachers to maintain control over what is sold at school canteens and to monitor the influx of gadgets promoting pornography and homosexuality in schools.
Closing the two-day conference, the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, The Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu, urged Headteachers to support the endowment fund and to prepare for their retirement while still in active service.
He called on school administrators to cooperate with parents to ensure that children are fed while at school. “In places where I visit and find that children are not fed, I don’t ask how many first grades they get because they are not there. Children should be fed at school to ensure their academic success and well-being,” he said.
Archbishop Kaziimba decried the increasing number of ghost employees on the government payroll and the creation of ghost students to obtain capitation grants.
He launched the book titled, Biblical Perspectives on Leadership, which includes scholarly work from Bishop Prof. Alfred Olwa of Lango Diocese, Canon Dr. Kedrace Turyagyenda, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Sports, Rev. Canon Dr. Paul Kakooza, the Director of Education for the Church of Uganda, and Rev. Silas Ssebugenyi, among others.
Rt. Rev. Nathan Ahimbisibwe, the Bishop of South Ankole Diocese and Chair of the Provincial Board of Education, charged Headteachers to be faithful stewards of resources allocated to their schools.
In his presentation on “Leading under Crisis and Stress,” Bishop Ahimbisibwe advised Headteachers to avoid compromising situations that cause stress, noting that stressed leaders’ anger often affects their families and those they lead.
Mr. David Mugawe, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration at Uganda Christian University, representing Vice Chancellor Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi, announced the introduction of a short course in Administrative Law to equip leaders with relevant administrative skills.
During the retreat, Bishop Godfrey Loum of the Diocese of Northern Uganda led morning devotion under the theme, “Conformity to God’s truth amidst world’s patterns” urging members not to be taken by worldly desires at the expense of God’s holy word.
Topics discussed included Digital Leadership, school improvement plans for Universal Secondary Schools, Non-Universal Secondary Schools, and Primary Schools. Dr. Paul Muyinda Birevu, Mrs. Ruth Mande, Canon John Fred Kazibwe, and Ms. Elizabeth Namwanje contributed to these discussions, while Bishop Prof. Alfred Olwa delivered a keynote address.
According to Mr. Nantagya Grace Ssebanakitta, the Chairperson of COUHEIA, over 430 delegates including Headteachers, Diocesan Education Coordinators and Diocesan Inspectors of Schools attended the retreat which was a great networking and learning opportunity for the participants.
