Head teacher at 34, retired at 54

Janet Kemigisha Tumwine, 56, the fourth born of nine children was born in 1962 to the late Ephraim Mukiira and Jaireth Kenjogyera of Bwooma, Kitagata, Sheema District. She began school in 1969 at Kitagata Girls Primary School where she completed Primary Seven in 1976.

She joined Senior One at Bweranyangi Girls Secondary School in 1977 and did not leave the school until she completed Senior Six in 1982.

Kemigisha does not recall any struggles with school fees something she credits her hardworking father for. “Our father was a peasant but with a steady income. He was progressive in his own way and due to that, we would have our fees paid in time. I had never been sent home for defaulting school fees,” she says.
In 1983, Kemigisha enrolled for a teacher training course at National Teachers College, Kakoba in Mbarara Town where she obtained a Diploma in Education majoring in Agriculture.

Although she had previously hoped to study medicine after secondary school thanks to the influence of her big sisters to study science subjects at A-Level, her performance dictated otherwise. “I did not score highly at A-Level in Physics, Chemistry and Biology which could enable me to study medicine,” she recounts adding, “I decided to study another course and chose to like it because I did not get what I wanted.”

In 1985, Kemigisha started school practice at Kyeizooba Girls Secondary School in Bushenyi District. Ruyonza School later became her first work station in 1986 as an Agriculture teacher. “I had the commitment to teach because I was a new teacher. I had just come out of college but I taught there for one year and went to Kampala Secondary School where I taught up to 1990,” she recalls.

Kemigisha was in 1991 transferred to Kyamuhunga Secondary School where she taught for a year before joining Bweranyagi Girls Secondary School, her former school. During her stay at Bweranyangi, she enrolled for a Bachelors of Education at Institute of Teacher Education Kyambogo and graduated in 1996.

Kemigisha rejoined Bweranyangi as a fulltime staff. After two years, she was appointed to take charge of Kashenshero Girls Secondary School as caretaker head teacher and was in 2001 made a substantive head teacher of the school up to 2008.
“Being identified to serve as acting head teacher was a challenging task but I later coped. I was mentored by senior head teachers who told me it was possible. I also consulted widely on administration and policy issues,” she recalls.

In 2009, Kemigisha was transferred to Seseme Girls School in Kisoro District where she served up to 2012 when she was transferred to Kinyasano Girls High School, Rukungiri District in 2013 and she was there up to 2015. She was in 2016 transferred to Kyeibare Girls School in Mitooma District where she retired at 54 years.

Early retirement
Having served outside her home district for many years, Kemigisha felt it was necessary to return home before retirement age and attend to her family.
“You can teach for years but where you will go after retirement should also be a question. I came home and it was another challenging time because I ceased getting monthly salaries. I later adjusted,” she says.
She used her savings to improve her earlier established Yahweh Jireh bookshop business in Ishaka Town where she works.

Kemigisha tips
Students: Have clear vision and purpose of being in school and work towards it to avoid being swept away. You must be hardworking and mindful of the future.
Teachers: Teaching should be a calling if one is to act professional. They need to learn how to love their career. A good teacher should not look at earning because with teaching, you do not get much.

Parents: Parents need to have interest in the education of their children. They should regularly visit their children’s institutions and work out with the teachers on how children perform. They ought to provide fees and upkeep money in time most especially for the girls who are vulnerable.

“She was my class teacher and head teacher. We used to call her Maama because of the way she used to visit us in dormitories to speak to us about our issues.”
Charity Nagasha

“She was a supportive teacher who would guide and counsel us. She would also agree on the mode of paying fees with us. She was also strict on discipline.”
Modrine Nuwajuna

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