Prisoner scores first grade from UPE school
Ronald Nyombi, an inmate from Nakasongola Prison, who scored Aggregate 12. PHOTO/DAN WANDERA
What you need to know:
- When news about the good performance was delivered to inmates last Thursday, they burst into celebrations.
An inmate at Nakasongola Prison is among the top performers at one of the district’s Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools after scoring Aggregate 12 in the just released results for the 2023 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE).
Mr Ronald Nyombi, who was among the seven inmates, registered at Nakasongola RC Primary School in Nakasongola Town Council.
Mr Wilfred Ogwang, the school’s head teacher, said Nyombi’s results came as a surprise and a big boost to the school performance.
“The inmates from Nakasongola Prison sit their PLE at our centre. We are also in charge of the candidates and extend extra lessons to them in the prison to ensure that they pass the exam. We had eight inmates, and all passed the 2023 PLE, although only Nyombi secured a first grade,” he said in an interview at the weekend.
While the inmates at Nakasongola Prison have for the past six years been allowed to sit for PLE outside the facility, the UPE school bears the burden of extending extra lessons to them.
“The inmates have no deliberate teaching programme aimed at preparing them for PLE. Our teachers often extend the extra lessons and deliver different sets of papers for the prisoners to practice. We mark the papers and offer some extra lessons at the weekends,” Mr Ogwang said.
When news about the good performance was delivered to inmates last Thursday, they burst into celebrations.
“The inmates were happy, danced as they congratulated Ronald Nyombi for his good performance. Of course, the prison administration does not dictate and interfere with individual inmates who request to be allowed to study and sit national exams,” one of the prison wardens, who preferred anonymity, said last Friday.
Mr Dennis Opio, the chairperson of the school’s management committee, said the school decided to extend the extra lessons to the inmates to ensure that they positively change their lives.
“We wouldn’t wish to register failures at our centre. This is why the school head teacher assigns some teachers to offer extra lessons to the inmates. They have no teachers at the prison. We appeal to the government to add more staff at the school to be able to do the voluntary teaching for the inmates,” he said.
