PLE: New kids on the block

This year list of schools that topped PLE held several new entrants. These rarely heard of schools edged out traditional schools. How did it happen and who are these schools? Here is the story of some of the newer entrants into the top league.

Lypa Primary School (Mbarara)
Found deep in Ntungamo village in Kashare Sub County, 40 kilometres from Mbarara town on Mbarara-Ibanda road, Lypa stunned the nation by coming in third in the country in PLE with 100 per cent pass in first division.

“Our performance has been very good since 2007. This is the second time all our candidates are passing in division one. But this year we have registered the highest number of pupils with aggregate 4,” says Mr Tumwine.

Tumwine says the teachers he uses are grade three certificate holders but who are young, committed and without many responsibilities to distract them.

“Out of 26 teaching staff I have only one who is a graduate secondary school teacher. He works as the headmaster, the rest came when they are certificate holders. Some are just upgrading. We don’t hire teachers, we improve ours,” he says. He hires good and experienced teachers from Kampala schools and consultants to come train the teachers at Lypa, a thing he feels has paid off.

Last year he brought a science teacher from Kampala. He trained them in March and was brought back in July to do evaluation.

“You can’t believe the results! In 2010 we had 11 Distinction Ones in science, in 2011 we had 9 Distinction Ones in Science and in 2012 because I brought this teacher to train we have got 42 Distinction One’s in science,” Tumwine says proudly.

Teachers are paid between Shs200,000 and Shs500,000 every month depending on grade, experience and competence. They also have meals and accommodation within the school. Tumwine started Lypa Primary School in 2003. His wife Lydia who ran the school until 2009 when Tumwine retired is a qualified primary school teacher.

He names the school after the first parts of his two children’s names Lynn and Patson.

Pearl Junior School (Bushenyi)
Over the years, traditional schools like Bweranyangi Boarding Primary, Kyeitembe Model, Nganwa Junior, Kashozi Boarding and St. Kagwa put Bushenyi among the best performing districts in National Examinations. Pearl Junior School located in Bushenyi/Ishaka Municipality did one over the traditional giants ranking ninth nationwide in the 2012 PLE. For the second time all its candidates have passed in first grade. Four of the 58 pupils who got first grade had aggregate 4.

The school started in 2007 and sat its first PLE candidates in 2008. 14 passed in first grade and four in second grade. Ms Allen Atwine, the deputy head teacher says that the news of their performance was received with excitement.

“We were excited and pleased to have this performance. Even in 2011, we had all our pupils coming in division one. This shows our hard work, it is not an easy task. Of course we cannot say that we expected this excellent result but maintaining it is our joy,” Ms Atwine says.

She however declined to comment on the fees structure but said that their fees are friendly.

“Our pupils are given the best foundation for excellence in academic, co-curricular and spiritual up righteousness,” she says.

Silver Spoon School (Kampala)
It is a stone throw away from one of the better known schools Greenhill, yet when it came to PLE results by percentages, the two schools couldn’t have been further apart. Silver Spoon with a 100 per cent first grade score placed 14th while Greenhill came in at 136th position.