St. Charles Lwanga’s college has welcomed a new substantial headteacher, Ms. Amiri Beatrice Olivia, who took on the role on the 17th/09/2021.
She took over from Caretaker Headteacher Mr. Olupot Christopher who has been at the helm of the School Administration since February 2020. His interim administration took over from Ms. Stella Namboozo whose tenure stretched from June 2018 to February 2020. Ms. Namboozo’s tenure was bogged by a number of controversies that engulfed the administration and that affected the performance of the school and subsequently led to her discontinuation at the helm of the school administration.
The handover ceremony was witnessed by the Board of Governors (BoGs) of St. Charles in which Mr. Olupot Christopher handed over the instruments of administration to the new Headteacher.
The Chairman of the BoGs in his remarks thanked the outgoing headteacher Mr. Olupot for his efforts in uplifting the school from the near abyss that it had been plunged into. He commended him for his efforts of restoring calm in the school and improvement in the academic performance of the students that saw at least one student getting a first grade compared to the previous year where non got a first grade.
The outgoing headteacher Mr. Olupot welcomed the new headteacher and thanked the BoG and staff of the school for the time he served after being assigned by the Ministry of Education and sports as acting headteacher, even though he had just been transferred as a deputy headteacher. He appreciated the support that was given to him during this time in spite of the many challenges. He highlighted that the most critical challenge still facing the school was the land issue which had been encroached on by some unscrupulous school neighbors and members of the community.
About Ms. Amiri Beatrice Olivia
Ms. Amiri Beatrice Olivia, formerly headteacher Atanga Girls Secondary School, comes with a background rich in experience having worked for 19 years at Sacred Heart Girls School in Gulu (one of the greatest girls schools in Northern Uganda) and also Lwala Girls Secondary schools before then. She pledged to work closely with the staff, BoG and all the stakeholders and said that she was not coming to overhaul anything but rather to improve on what was there having acclimatised herself with the culture of the school. She would not impose anything without consultation.
She pledged to focus on two key issues; work towards improving academic performance and improve staff welfare. In addition, she also emphasized the importance of bringing the community on board by involving them in school activities. She further stressed the need for peaceful dialogue in light of the unresolved land question and to create an ambience for co-existence with the neighbours of the school.
Parish Priest Fr. Raymond introduces new headteacher Ms. Amiri Beatrice Olivia to the Christian Community
On the 9th /10/2021 Independence day, the Parish Priest Fr. Raymond who was the main celebrant at the Independence Day mass celebration in Kalongo Catholic Church, introduced the new headteacher Ms. Amiri Beatrice Olivia to the Christian Community. He told the congregation that Ms. Amiri Beatrice is a stanch Catholic who has been sent to steer the school as the new headteacher, he urged the community to cooperate with her so as to improve education of our children in St. Charles Lwanga’s College Kalongo. Meanwhile Ms. Amiri appreciated the warm welcome and pledged to work with the community of Kalongo, She further stressed the importance of education and therefore urged the populace to take education of their children very seriously in order to guarantee their future.
She informed the congregation that she just attended a workshop in the past week where government has trained some of the teachers on the eLearning concept and registration of students is underway to enroll them on this program that is meant to facilitate learning amidst the Covid-19 challenge.
She then underscored the importance of both the community and the Catholic parish of Kalongo as fundamental in ensuring her success in contributing towards quality education of the children, and therefore pledged to work closely with them.
The congregation were elated with the prospect of a new female headteacher with such a rich background who is also a staunch catholic, they welcomed her with ululations and tremendous applause.
Miss Amiri comes with a lot of zeal and enthusiasm to improve St. Charles Lwanga’s College in the bid to and bring it back to glory as the greatest school in the vicinity. With her rich background the Board of Governors and community are optimistic that her administration can bring in the coveted level of improvement the school so dearly needs.
Obonyo Alex is The Kalongo Times, Bureau Chief, Kalongo Town Council. He currently serves on the Board of Governors at St. Charles Lwanga’s College Kalongo and on the Pader Abim Community Multipurpose Electric Co-operative Society Limited (PACMECS); a cooperative dealing with the distribution of electricity in the northern service territory. He is a member of the Board of Directors chairing its Finance and Human Resource Committee. Between 2016 to July 2018 he also served on the Board of Governors at St. Kizito Hospital Matany in Karamoja. Alex worked at Dr Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital for 28 years (1990 to 2018), and for 14 of those years, he was the Hospital Administrator. He has a Masters of Science in Health Services Management and a bachelor’s degree in Administrative Studies. Obonyo Alex is also a local Kalongo businessman.