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Nabasinga’s heart beats for girl child education
Nabasinga in her office during a recent interview with this publication. PHOTO | OWEN WAGABAZA
What you need to know:
- According to Noelline Nabasinga of St Kalooli Lwanga SS, Mulajje, it is until parents understand the need to fully support their children’s education that sanitary pads provision will become a non-issue.
When Ms Noelline Nabasinga was posted to St Kalooli Lwanga SS, Mulajje as the head teacher, she soon realised that there was a group of girls who despite their interest in education, would suddenly disappear from school and reappear after several days.
After several months of observing this trend, she approached some of these girls individually to get the gist of the matter.
“All the girls had the same answer, whenever they are not at school, they are home managing their menstrual periods because they cannot afford the sanitary pads to ably manage the situation at school,” says Nabasinga.
According to Nabasinga, missing school for five consecutive days is a lot of time for a student and even worse for the girl child in a rural setting, as they rarely get time to look at a book outside the school setting.
“It was important that we intervene, or else, we would have lost them,” she says.
Despite the school’s tight resource envelope, Nabasinga opted to give the girls a hand by providing them with the necessary pads.
“We identified these girls and offered to give them a hand whenever the situation arises. And fortunately, absenteeism due to menstruation has since been minimized,” says Nabisanga.
“We are not offering free pads to the entire school because obviously we cannot afford such a policy, we are giving a hand to those girls we realized were missing school due the situation because we did not want to leave anyone behind,” says Nabasinga.
According to Nabasinga, even girls who suddenly find themselves in their periods are catered for.
“Other than this group, those who find themselves in emergency situations are catered for,” she adds.
Mr. Allan Mulondo, the Director of Studies at the school says Nabasinga’s policy of providing free sanitary pads has been a game changer.
“We are living in a community where some of our parents see no need in providing the necessary basic needs for their children. Because the school is under the universal education programme, they expect the government to provide everything,” says Mulondo.
Because the policy is not sustainable, Nabasinga regularly organises parents meetings where she brings facilitators to talk about the need for parents to be involved in their children’s education.
“Our parents meetings here are not necessary about school fees, but how they can improve themselves, how they can get out of poverty, why they need to get involved in their children’s education among others. This is because the problem is not necessarily poverty but mindset change,” says Nabasinga.
According to Nabasinga, it is until parents understand the need to fully support their children’s education that sanitary pads provision will become a non-issue.
“Soon I will be retiring and not every head teacher will understand these girls’ plight, it is therefore important that we tackle the root cause, which is the parents mindset,” she adds.
Transformative head teacher
In 2018, Nabasinga was posted to St Kalooli Lwanga SS Mulajje and she has spent the last six years forging a legacy.
“She has tried to improve on the school in all its spheres. She has worked on the infrastructure, the academic performance has improved as well as students’ enrollment,” Mr Samuel Maka, the school bursar says.
From the less than 500 students that Nabasinga inherited, the school currently has an enrollment of over 750 students.
“The school had quite a number of dilapidated infrastructure which she has worked on. She has also constructed a new girl’s dormitory, set up a head teacher’s house and connected the entire school to electricity. Nabasinga also used her lobbying skills to secure a safe drinking water system at the school to minimize diseases like typhoid. The system purifies water before it is accessed by the students through taps,” Maka adds.
According to Mulondo, Nabasinga has come up with a number of interventions aimed at improving the school’s academic performance.
“She has procured two printers to reduce on the costs incurred in buying stationary. Currently the school sets its exams, and because it is cheaper, students are regularly assessed which has helped in improving on their performance,” Mulondo explains.
“She also successfully lobbied for a computer lab complete with internet access. Our students can now ably study ICT and we are hopeful that with this facility, we will be able to groom a 21st century citizen,” says Mulondo.
In the same vein, she came up with a policy of compulsory feeding to all learners with the aim of ensuring that leaners stay focused while at school.
“I reached here when feeding was optional, and this was affecting our learners, because it is extremely hard for a learner to concentrate in class on an empty stomach. I called for a parents meeting and convinced them on the need to provide lunch for all our students and am glad they embraced the idea,” says Nabasinga.
The head teacher has also put a lot of emphasis on co-curricular activities. She has constructed a football pitch to encourage sports and games while also availing resources for the students to participate in music, dance and drama. Until recently, the school did not have a football pitch and was borrowing a neighboring pitch for its sports activities. But with the pitch now inside the school, students are free to participate in their preferred activity any day.
Mr James Kibirige, the chairperson Parents and Teachers Association says Nabasinga is a born leader, a listener, a great lobbyist and passionate about the girl child education.
“She handles each and every parent the way they come, she has relaxed on fees and maintained fees for boarding section at just sh360,000 with the aim of ensuring affordable quality education to each and every one especially girls,” Kibirige says.
Rev Fr Dr Gerald Wamala, the parish priest of Mulaje Catholic parish says Nabasinga is a committed and hardworking headteacher.
“She has improved on the discipline and academic performance of the school. She preaches an integral kind of education that touches the head, the heart and the hands. She also works very well with the community and has a passion for the girl child.”
Nabasinga who boasts 38 years of teaching experience and 20 years as a head teacher says her major weapon in education management has been in managing schools as they come.
“For every school you are posted to, it is important that you critically study the environment before introducing any new policies. Every school has its strength and weaknesses and should be addressed as such. Take time to understand the school, do a situational analysis and within weeks, you will have a clear picture of how you can improve on the school and transform it for the better,” Nabasinga advises.
“It is suicidal to employ the same policies wherever you go. Producing the desired results somewhere is no guarantee that they will deliver everywhere,” she adds.
Brief about Nabasinga
She graduated with a diploma in secondary education from National Teachers College Nkozi in 1987 and soon joined Makerere University for a Bachelors of arts degree in English Language graduating in 1996. In 2002, Nabasinga graduated with a Masters in Education Management before enrolling for a Masters in Local governance and human rights.
She has served in a number of schools including Masaka SS, Lubiri SS, St Mary’ SS Lugazi, Kasengeje SS, Kampala High School and St Denis Ssebugwawo SS, Gaba.
She was appointed a substantive headteacher in 2007, and posted to Kasengejje SS from where she was transferred to St Balikudembe SS Mitala Maria in Mpigi district before joining St Kalooli Lwanga SS, Mulajje in 2018.
