Negri School: Where the ‘Queen’s language’ ruled our times
By Julius N. Uma
My mum, despite her meagre income, always strived to ensure that I fitted
within Bishop Angelo Negri Primary School’s learning environment.
At Negri, local language speaking remained outside the school gate. English was
compulsory and whoever didn’t know the Queen’s language was expected to remain
silent or in isolation.
As such, those who never knew English would either climb trees or hide in the
school’s banana plantations. In that way, they would avoid confronting English
speakers who often walked with confidence. Culprits were severely punished
before the school assembly, and the manner in which the canes were administered
would leave everyone in the English mood, whether they liked it or not.
The writer (seated extreme left) with his classmates. Squatting is Mr. Santos
Okema, the current headmaster of the school.
During our days at Negri, the institution was awash with cases of pupils
escaping from school every other day that passed. This was mainly common among
pupils in the lower classes. When a pupil got to school, he was expected to
adjust to the environment. So what really made life unbearable at Negri School,
one may wonder? Speaking English, like I did mention before, was official and
compulsory.
A story was recently told of how one brilliant Old Boy; Samuel Oola (Asharp)
shocked the headmistress as a P.1 pupil. On instructions from the headmistress,
all P.1 pupils were tasked to write the best English vocabulary they knew.
But while other pupils wrote words like dog, cat, fish, cow, etc, Asharp, as he
was (is) popularly known, wrote a whole sentence, saying; “The driver drove a
lorry yesterday.” Shocked, the headmistress simply rushed to her office and
brought him a whole packet of sweets. He had a full “blast” thereafter, to the
admiration of his fellow P.1 colleagues.
Talk of learning English the hard way.
Secondly, our prefects behaved like small gods. The headboy, an equivalent of
the master on duty, took full control of the school affairs. Colleagues who
went through Negri School in the late 1980s and early 1990s will probably never
forget Mr. Oloya Seges and Richard Todwong, both former head prefects. They
left great leadership legacies for their predecessors to emulate. Mr. Oloya
currently lives in the US, while Mr. Todwong is an advisor to President Yoweri
Museveni.
The dining hall prefects made life easier for some pupils. Certainly a dining
prefect could not allow a blood brother, friend, neighbour or even an in-law to
settle for less amounts of cassava, maize, biscuits, sweet potatoes etc when
serving in the refectory.
Peeping through the dining windows to have a glimpse of the food amount on the
plate was a common practice. Since pupils sat in alphabetical order, one could
easily spot his plate through the window. Window peeping also had its own
demerits. For instance, an Old Boy, now an accountant in a reputable NGO,
reportedly had it rough one day, while peeping through the window.
As he climbed onto the window to get a proper view of what was on his plate, a
dining prefect mercilessly smashed his face with sweet potatoes. Only the
school nurse could best explain his condition after that incident.
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