Dr Dan Bubaale, Kayunga District Education Officer is the only civil servant working with Kayunga District local government who possess a PhD. Photo/Fred Muzaale
"Hard work pays" may be a cliché for some people but it resonates well with Dr Dan Bubaale, the Kayunga District Education Officer.
Dr Bubaale's hard work, determination coupled with being disciplined has seen him rise through the ranks from a mere classroom teacher, he was some two decades ago, to lead headteachers who were once his supervisors.
Dr Bubaale, 48, is the third official to serve as the DEO of Kayunga since the creation of the district in 2001.
He replaced Ms Alice Dhoya, who retired in 2022 after clocking the 60-year mandatory retirement age for civil servants.
To reach where he is now, Dr Bubaale says it has been a long journey filled with sacrifices, hard work but also taking advise from his family members and friends.
While only seven years, Bubaale who was then in primary two lost both his parents.
This was a big blow to him especially that it was his parents who were paying for his education.
But since he was a bright and a disciplined young boy, Bubaale's aunt, who was a primary school headteacher took over the responsibility of paying for his education and at the same time took care of him. His grandmother too was a teacher.
His aunt who has since passed on educated him up to senior four.
"Since I had stayed with my aunt who was a headteacher for some good years, I picked interest in becoming a teacher. No one coerced me to join teaching. I loved the profession because it was in my blood," he says.
After completing senior four, the late Dr David Kazungu, a renown educationist in Busoga sub-region and former minister, a relative of Bubaale's grandmother took him in.
"Dr Kazungu wanted to take me to Busoga College, Mwiri to do Advanced level, but knowing that I loved being a teacher, my grandmother guided that I should go to a Primary Teacher's College, which I loved, so that I study to become a primary school teacher," a beaming Dr Bubaale recalls.
He was enrolled in Kamuli primary teacher's college from where he graduated with as a grade III certificate teacher in 1996.
Even after graduating as a teacher, he says, his interaction with Dr Kazunguwho was highly respected and among the few people in Busoga sub-region with a PhD inspired him to further his education.
"My late grandmother always told me that she wanted me to study hard and become like Dr Kazungu. I took her advise and vowed to fulfil her desire," he says.
Because of his brilliance in teaching, Bubaale did not struggle searching for where to teach.
He was quickly spotted by the headteacher of Kamuli C/U primary school in Nakisunga sub-county in Mukono District and immediately appointed and put on government payroll.
But after two years at the school where he taught English, social studies and mathematics, he was transferred to Seeta C/U as a classroom teacher.
He was again transfered to Natteta C/U as acting Deputy Headteacher. Kayunga had not been curved out of Mukono District.
But while teaching at Natteta primary school, he enrolled for a diploma in education under the in-service program at Kyambogo University from where he graduated in 2003.
He was not yet satisfied. In 2008 he obtained a bachelor's of education degree from the same institution.
By this time, Kayunga District had been created and he had been promoted to the position of headteacher and served in different schools.
In 2010, Bubaale got a scholarship from the Irish-Uganda partnership through the Ministry of Education and Sports to pursue a masters degree from Agha Khan University in Dar salaam, Tanzania from where he obtained a masters in education leadership and management.
Upon obtaining a masters degree, he was appointed as schools inspector for Bbaale county, a position he served in for three years before being appointed the senior education officer for Kayunga District.
In 2022, soon after he obtained a PhD from Kyambogo university, he was appointed the District Education Officer for Kayunga replacing Ms Alice Dhoya.
He is the only civil servant working with Kayunga District local government who possess a PhD.
As the DEO, Dr Bubaale is in charge of supervising headteachers, some of whom he worked under as a classroom teacher.
Kayunga District has a total of 167 primary and 12 government aided secondary schools.
"In the past Kayunga District used to be ranked among the poor performing 20 districts in Uganda. However, for the past three years under my leadership education department has made tremendous improvement." Dr Bubaale notes.
In 2021, Kayunga District had 65.4 percent pass rate in PLE while in 2022 it registered 77.1 percent pass rate and last year it went up to 81.4 percent.
"Kayunga District also emerged champions of this year's national under 12 primary schools football competition," he says.
Despite the achievements registered during his term in office, Dr Bubaale says lack of enough infrastructure such as classrooms is still a big challenge affecting effective teaching and learning.
"The government has tried to construct classrooms and toilet facilities but they don't match the big learner enrolment. More text books are still also required," he says.
A section of head teachers lauded Dr Bubaale for being a team player and for being result-oriented.
"He is a team leader who always wants to excel as a team. He is social and disciplined, " Ms Annet Naluwooza one of the teachers says.
