Government names best performing head teachers

Ms Mary Goretti Aigo, the Awalwal Primary School acting head teacher, was named the best in Soroti District. Photo by Simon Peter Emwamu

Kampala- The Ministry of Education has named 81 head teachers with outstanding administrative performance across the country.

The ministry has asked other institutions to emulate them to ensure there is learning amid limited resources.
According to Ms Frances Atima, a principal inspector at the Directorate of Education Standards, the directorate used an inspection tool that tracks the performance of head teachers, teachers and learners.

Ms Atima said the ranking comes after several reports of continuous absenteeism of school administrators, which has affected the learners’ performance.

“We have high absenteeism of teachers and heads of schools. As a result, the pupils reach Primary Seven without numeracy and literacy competencies,” Ms Atima said.
The directorate looked at eight benchmarks, including one’s professional and general conduct, interpersonal and public relations, ethical conduct, personal presentation, work behaviour (time keeping and duty attendance), special personal attributes, response to client needs and service delivery and execution of assignments on time and accountability.

Each scale was evaluated at five points with the best head teachers scoring at least four and above points.
Awalwal Primary School acting head teacher, Ms Mary Goretti Aigo, was the best in Soroti District. She heads a typical rural school with 1,011 learners.

The school had inadequate infrastructure and furniture when she joined three years ago. The earliest the pupils and their teachers would arrive at school was 10am.

“Absenteeism was very rampant, especially on Thursdays when all the teachers would go to the market.

There was minimal curriculum coverage,” Ms Aigo recalled as she addressed the Education Sector Review meeting recently.

But her transfer to the school has turned around both the school’s fortunes and results. For the first time in 30 years, the school got a first grade in PLE last year.

Ms Aigo says after studying the school culture, she committed to lead by example. She would report to school at 6am.
At first, the teachers thought she would tire out but that didn’t happen.

After a month, the teacher on duty also reported at 6am. She then called the staff for a meeting and informed them of the changes.

For children who were reported unwell, she would personally visit them at their homes and this impressed their parents. Parents now contribute willingly to the school’s development. It is such changes that have seen the school community construct five permanent houses for the teachers.
Ms Sylivia Ssinabulya Namabidde, the chairperson Parliament committee on Education and Sports, said the recognition of Ms Aigo, “will be a motivation for others to realise that when you do good, you are rewarded”.

Addressing district inspectors of schools last week, Mr Tony Lusambu, the assistant commissioner primary at the Education ministry, asked the inspectors to drill head teachers whose schools are performing poorly.

“You must have seen schools collapse because of a bad head teacher and others improve because of good ones. 90 per cent presence of head teachers in the school will mean having more than 95per cent presence of the teachers,” Mr Lusambu said.

But Mr James Jjuko, the head teacher Kisugu Primary School in Kampala and representative of Head teachers Association, asked Mr Lusambu to create time and interface with them to get their side of the story.

“The head teachers work tirelessly to use the meager resources they get from government to run their respective schools. Given the rising inflation amid constant underfunding, how much would you want them to perform?” Mr Jjuko asked.