Mwiri’s new head teacher outlines plans to awaken sleeping giant

In January,  the Ministry of Education and Sports posted Mr Peter Sibukule to Busoga College Mwiri as the new head teacher, replacing Mr Arthur Mbalule who was posted to Old Kampala SS.

For more than two decades, Busoga College Mwiri has been a shadow of its former self, with the school marred by academic underachievement, dilapidated infrastructure and a demoralized staff. A sleeping giant that Mwiri is, expectations from the public have always been high, resulting into pressure on the head teachers to deliver.  

Sibukule says he is well aware of the task at hand and ready for the challenge ahead. 

“Big schools like Mwiri have cultures, norms and expectations that you have to uphold. Failure and averageness is not entertained. At least am aware of such pressures,” says Sibukule. 

Prior to joining Mwiri, Sibukule was the Deputy headteacher at Bishops Secondary School Mukono.

Headhunted by Mwiri

Having wallowed in academic oblivion for years, Mwiri’s key stakeholders, this time round took it upon themselves to identify the person who can help the school regain its former glory. 

And after a protracted process lasting almost a year, Mwiri zeroed on Sibukule. 

“I first received a call from a lady in March 2023, requesting for permission to allow her and company do more research about me, ‘for good reasons though’,” Sibukule remembers. The call would mark the beginning of a nine months long process of engagements between Sibukule and Mwiri representatives. 

“Two weeks later, I received another call from Eng Dr Jimmy Muwuluke, the Education Secretary Busoga Diocese, requesting for my Curriculum Vitae. A physical meeting followed between me and Eng Muwuluke, and here, he told me he had gone through my CV, had done some research about me and was impressed by my works, and as such, wanted to entrust me with the responsibility of reviving a giant school that was struggling,” says Sibukule. 

Eng Muwuluke never disclosed the name of the school.  

The meetings with various stakeholders continued. 

“From meeting one person, to two, four, the entire board, and finally the executive committee of MOBA (old boys association). And in all these meetings, the focus was on my management skills and how I would try to take the school to its former glory,” Sibukule explains. 

According to Sibukule, though he was shocked and humbled that such a giant school would go for him, his works in all the schools he has been posted speak louder and it was just a matter of time. 

Prior to joining Mwiri, Sibukule taught at Entebbe SS for 10 years, leaving in 2010 as a Director of Studies. In 2010, Sibukule joined Kololo SS, where he found gaps in management and volunteered to help put the school in order, starting with turning the school from a double shift system to the widely used single shift system. 

“I realized that we had enough space to ably run a single shift system, I spoke to the head teacher and convinced her that it is possible, fortunately, she agreed and tasked me to oversee its implementation, a job I did with distinction,” says Sibukule. 

In 2012, Sibukule was unusually promoted to a deputy head teacher. “while coordinating a SESEMAT workshop at the school, the then commissioner for secondary education Mr John Agaba noticed my potential, he requested for my CV and after perusing through it, he there and then appointed me a caretaker deputy head teacher and requested me to pick my appointment letter the next day.” 

As a deputy head teacher, Sibukule interested the headteacher in the need to adopt a policy of parents contributing money for feeding. 

“Being a USE school, the head teacher was hesitant at first, but we were not making any headway academically due to teaching students on an empty stomach.  She finally embraced my idea and we organized a parents meeting where parents agreed to pay Shs30,000 as lunch fees,” he says.  

In 2016, Sibukule left Kololo SS. “Together with the team, we brought order to the school, and discipline and academic performance improved tremendously. It was a much better place than I had found it.” 

In 2016, he was appointed a substantive deputy headteacher and posted to Bishop’s SS Mukono. At Bishop’s, working closely with the head teacher, he improved on the discipline in the school, and shared with the head teacher the need to migrate from bank slips to digital payment of fees.  

“The head teacher bought the idea and this boosted the financial status of the school, leading to improved students and staff welfare and resultantly, an improvement in academic performance,” says Sibukule.     

Plans 

Sibukule intends to run the school on the principle of “attract students, retain them and make them excel.”

To achieve this, Sibukule has started by working on the image of the school. 

“We started by repainting all the dormitories and fixing all the broken windows,” the new head teacher says. He has also replaced broken furniture, and has purchased new water purifiers to ensure students have safe drinking water. 

According to Sibukule, students are clients and should be treated as such by prioritising a comfortable stay during their time at the school. 

In the same vein, the offices of the head teacher and the two deputies have been given a facelift, equipping them with new modern furniture to create a better image of the school. He has also paved the famous quadrangle with pavers to improve on the image and climate in the school.

On academic improvement, Sibukule started with induction workshops for his staff aimed at mindset change. 

“I wanted to be at the same page with my staff that it is possible, we can change the academic fortunes of the school for the better,” says Sibukule. 

He has also recruited five science teachers to improve on the manpower in the science department, and is engaging the Ministry for more teachers.

“Together with my team, we are trying to see that each teacher is of impact whenever in class by ensuring that classes start in time as well as following the quality of teaching in the class. To achieve this, we have hired experts to appraise our schemes of work especially for the new curriculum to ensure that they are in line with what we want. We are also doing a lot of benchmarking.”

Working closely with all the key stakeholders, Sibukule intends to come up with a strategic plan for the school that will guide and create direction for the school in the next five years. 

Mr Samuel Mwondah, the Director of Studies says Sibukule is a visionary who will transform the school for the better. 

“His working methods are convincing. He found the staff in cliques but united us and we are now all focused on the common goal. We have a lot of hope in him.” 

Ms Esther Akuku, the Deputy Head teacher says Sibukule is focused, a unifier and a believer in teamwork and always on the ground. “We are ready to give him all the support he needs.”