"Abayizi be Kitovu aba haya (A level) bediimye lwabutagala kwambala mpale za kikuyege(khaki)." Some Newspaper
Those were the good old days! FNL
-------------------------------------
Kitovu College: Masaka�s dream come true
Profile: By Michael J. Ssali
April 26, 2004
|
Somewhere in the early 1920s nearly all students in St. Mary�s College Kisubi were from Masaka. The main means of transport then was by foot, so it was such a hard task for the Masaka boys to travel to school. That was why the White Fathers decided that a school similar to St. Mary�s be built in Masaka. In 1922 St. Henry�s College Kitovu was started.
According to Mr Bernard Bukesa, who studied in the school from 1923, the school was grass thatched and was situated beside the present Cathedral at Kitovu. Bukesa, now a retired teacher recounts that the diet then consisted of Matooke, sweet potatoes and vegetables. Kitovu admitted students who had completed primary four. They spent some five years at the school, and either joined Makerere College or went to take up jobs in the colonial government departments. Hardly any of them had a pair of shoes. The fee of six shillings a term was a problem to most parents and Bukesa says that they were about 120 students in the school. Its motto then was Kyosimba Onaanya. (The Banana tree you plant half-heartedly is the one from which you harvest the best banana bunch). In 1927 the White Fathers handed over St. Henry�s College to the Brothers of Christian Instruction and the school moved to its present location on the top of Kitovu hill. Today St. Henry�s College has a student population of 950 and a teaching staff of 50. It boasts of quite strong buildings resting on a spacious tidy compound. The headmaster, Brother Brian Matsiko, says that, his students don�t just learn computer skills; they actually use computers to learn. Each student has up to two hours every week to surf the Internet, and they take some of their science lessons on the Internet. They also learn English, French and other arts subjects on the Internet. The Deputy headmaster Mr. Lawrence Ssenkubuge said, �The computer is a very good teacher because it is willing all the time to repeat the lesson as many times as you command it�. The school�s Internet centre boasts of more than 120 computers. The school motto has changed to For Greater Horizons and the school fees are Shs 280, 000 a term. Some of the old boys of the school include the speaker of Parliament Mr Edward Ssekandi, MP Lubaga South Mr. Ken Lukyamuzi, and the head of Mulago Hospital Dr. Lawrence Kaggwa. The school diet comprises of posho, beans, matooke, potatoes, beef and eggs. Inside the headmaster�s office is full of trophies the school has won in various sports activities, which include football, basketball, hockey, cricket rugby and athletics. |
� 2004 The Monitor Publications
FN Lugemwa
Do you Yahoo!?
Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs
