PRESENTATION BY MWIRI OLD BOYS ASSOCIATION, TO FRIENDS OF MWIRI BI-ANNUAL REUNION, SATURDAY 5 th OCTOBER, 2013, WATERLOO, LONDON PREAMBLE: My association with Mwiri goes back to January 1933 when my late father, Alfred James Kisubi, as a seven year old joined the school in primary one and stayed on until 1944 from where he went to Makerere University and was later to return as a teacher in 1950 till 1963 (albeit with a 4 year sojourn with my mother at Queens University, Belfast from 1956-1960) when he was appointed a Minister of Education and Health in the then Busoga government. I was born at the hill in January 1961, went to Mwiri Primary in 1972 and up the hill in 1974 for six amazing years albeit in the difficult times of the 1970s for Uganda. My close associations with Mwiri continued through cricket where for the last thirty years Mwiri has been at the top, winning the national championship over 15 times (nine of which were consecutive). In more recent years my involvement has been with MOBA where I am privileged to currently serve as its President . CHALLENGES: At the MOBA meeting in preparation for this reunion, the executive charged me to highlight to the FOM the challenges and opportunities which face Mwiri as follows: Academic standards have been in decline over the last few years as a result of Mwiri is not coping with the 21 st century competition. We have been affected by poor academic standards in the East and North of the country which have always been our key catchment areas coupled with the Kampala “ centricity ” in the country as a whole where all the good students now flock and of course the emergence of strong private schools in the central region. New measures are sought for Mwiri to compete in the 21 st century and these need to be discussed. The school fees structure and collection methodology at the school are both far from ideal and there is a committee now looking to have this addressed. Fees at Mwiri are well below the other traditional schools – Budo, Gayaza, Namagunga, etc and to make matters worse are not collected in full which has put the school considerably in debt and thus affecting many school activities. The water pump which last had major refurbishment in 2002 is on its last legs and perpetually breaks down once or twice a term which at times is a cause of unrest in the school as it affects hygiene and also slows down many school activities. There is need for urgent intervention in this area and works to have this done have been scoped by an Old Boy but now requires funding (Approximately US$100,000).
Governance at all levels of school management has not been strong over the last few years and has affected leadership at the school which if not addressed will affect any attempts to revive the school. A committee set by the Bishop of Busoga and chaired by the MOBA patron, Hon.Dr Ruhakana Rugunda is already working on key corporate governance structures. Extracurricular activities as we know them are in the balance with the emphasis on academics together with the high cost of running them (equipment, instruments, etc) and yet they must be revived. Again these are issues being addressed in the Rugunda committee MOBA was very active leading up to a successful centennial celebration in 2011 but has since slowed down as always happens after a major event but measures have been put in place to forestall this and have OBs more involved with school activities. OPPORTUNITIES: A new board has been appointed and is soon to be inaugurated and we believe with the many issues which came up in the school probe report after the unrest, the board has a basis where to begin the revival. The new board has the opportunity to operate with the many school underlying issues previously unknown now very clear. The new Board composition also ensures more involvement of Old Boys and by extension MOBA. The year end will ensure transfer of many teachers as recommended by the probe committee and a breed of new ones coming in hopefully breathing in new life and new ideas. The school currently has a student population of about 850 students which is the ideal optimum number and if the new school fees policy is adopted with its existing infrastructure and facilities in proper state, the school should be able to run as we’d all want it to. A stakeholder task force following on from the probe committee was formed (Commonly referred to as the Rugunda committee) and has been able to crystallize and prioritize the issues Mwiri needs to address and when. The committee should in October make a presentation to the Bishop for sign off and implementation by the board. The staff rationalisation process by the Ministry has come at the right time and it is also an opportunity to look at the non teaching staff, an area we believe is bloated.
The school sits on 550 acres of land (most of it on the slopes of the hill) and with new management at levels coming in, it is an opportunity to start the process of reclaiming it and turning it in to “gold”. The African Development Bank (ADB) has just given the school, through the Government of Uganda, a grant of US$1.2M for refurbishment of key infrastructure and construction of new laboratories. The project should be complete in October 2014 and it takes in refurbishment of labs, classrooms, dormitory and construction of a double storied building which has two new labs. The annual homecoming forum which is a forum for all OB’s to visit the school continues to be held and indeed we had one in September of this year and had one of our own a reknown journalist, Andrew Mwenda giving an inspiring key note address. MOBA has a club house revival (the roundabout on the way to the Jinja barracks/Jinja College) and has a revival meeting on the 9 th November, 2013 having now taken full ownership and we see it is a way of capturing many OB’s traversing the highway. A teacher stakeholder forum is also being established to understand and appreciate their aspirations. CONCLUSION: Mwiri is in a time of change and the next two to three years will be critical in not just propelling it in to the 21 st century but to put it back on the road as the school of choice. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the FRIENDS OF MWIRI for inviting MOBA to this reunion and giving us an opportunity to share our thoughts. I would also like to thank the FOM for their continued support for Mwiri - Margi Mahoney and Charles Biroli for constantly keeping in touch by phone, email and Skype and to all of you who continue to do what you do for Mwiri especially visiting - most recently the Howells and of course the Woodsfords who are perpetually in Uganda! I look forward to the next reunion in 2015! “ Kulwa Katonda N ’eggwangga Lyaffe” Robert James Kisubi PRESIDENT, MOBA
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