Teaching is passion not a job

Robert Wozembe says teaching to him is more of a passion than a profession. Photos by Wilson Kutamba

What you need to know:

  • On his views on the education system, Wozembe says there are no dull or weak students but a weak education system with an irrelevant curriculum which has raised the high rate of school dropouts and unemployment in the society.

When I step into the school director of studies’ office at Blessed Sacrament Kimanya Secondary, Masaka, my eyes are quick to see the smartly dressed gentleman. At first sight, one can mistake Robert Wozembe for a legal practitioner. And seeing the ease with which students and parents enter his office over academic inquiries, I realise how friendly the 49-year-old is.

Wozembe was born in Sironko District in 1969 and his early education life started and ended in Mbale District. He started at Buyobo Primary School Mbale from where he joined Mbale Secondary School for both O and A-Level.
“These two schools gave me the foundation that would later help me succeed in life. I joined Kaliro National Teachers College for a Diploma in Secondary Education and immediately after this I enrolled for a Bachelor’s in Education with Agriculture as my teaching subject at Makerere University,” he says.

Wozembe graduated in 1994 and started his teaching career at St Charles Lwanga Secondary School, Kasasa in Kalungu District from 1995 to 2003.
“St Charles Lwanga, Kasasa was what I can call a mentor. What you see in me today is because they gave me a platform to express my talent and master it. I believe they ushered me in to professionalism,” Wozembe says.
Overtime, he has come to believe that teaching is to him a passion not a profession. “I have never regretted making a choice to join this profession. To me it is not a profession but a calling to serve,” Wozembe says.

The passionate teacher
In 2003 he was transferred to Blessed Sacrament, Kimanya, he says is where he has discovered a new home that has kept him for the last 14 years because he has moved from just being a teacher to an administrator in form of a director of studies. He was appointed to the position in 2010 in consideration of how a proficient, brave and hardworking teacher he is.
On his views on the education system, Wozembe says there are no dull or weak students but a weak education system with an irrelevant curriculum which has raised the high rate of school dropouts and unemployment in the society. “Relevant curriculum and strong education system accelerate job creation,” he asserts.

He adds that the currently reviewed curriculum may be a solution but still believes a lot has to be fixed. “The current state of affairs even makes it difficult for individuals to join teaching by choice but as a last resort,” Wozembe says.
Aside from the classroom, the teacher is married and together with his wife, they have five children. He calls on people to embrace the profession.
“Anyone seeking to be a teacher should take advantage of any chance they get to grow as a person and as a teacher,” Wozembe states.