Monday 27 May 2013

MUGWANYA PREPARATORY SCHOOL – KABOJJA WAS FOUNDED BY OLD BOYS OF ST. MARY’S COLLEGE KISUBI

My attention as editor of St. Mary’s College Kisubi History (1906 – 2006) has been drawn to false information as regards the origin (foundation) of the school and do wish to use this opportunity to put the record right.

Below is en extract from Mugwanya Preparatory School – Kabojja’s Strategic Plan (2013 – 2017) by the Head teacher.

“In 1926, St. Mary’s College Kisubi received a new breed of administrators from Canada (Brothers of Christian Instruction).  It’s this class of educators from St. Mary’s College, Kisubi that one day paid a visit to Ow’ekitiibwa Stanislaus Mugwanya.  It is then that Mugwanya asked them whether they could not found a school that could nurture Ugandan children from a tender age.  Stanislaus Mugwanya went a head to offer a huge chunk of land to realize this vision.  Thus Mugwanya Preparatory School came into existence.”
The above version is very wrong.

I wish to put the record right and straight regarding Kabojja Preparatory School.  The current Mugwanya Preparatory School had its origins at Kisubi.  This was owned by Catholic Sisters.  The Sisters wanted to phase out the school.  It is then that the Old Boys of St. Mary’s College Kisubi (SMACK) took up interest.  They wanted to maintain the junior school where their children would get initial education.  The Old Boys of SMACK approached Mengo establishment about the matter.  Mengo had land ready where the school could be re – located at Kabojja and gave a grant for two years to see the school take off at Kabojja.  It is then that the Old Boys of SMACK became the founders of Kabojja Junior School and not the Brothers of Christian Instructions.  

More information on this can be got from Lubaga Archives or contact Father Ssali who was previously in-charge of the archives.  It is very possible that the Old Boys got the Brothers in to do the Management, and with time the Brothers took over the school.  In fact some of the Old Boys are not happy that the school which used to have children up to primary 4 then the children would proceed to Savio for primary 5 to 7 was made into a fully fledged primary school.  The strategy was to see children in kabojja for infant section then up primary at Savio, then children would join SMACK with Savio in this case taken the junior school of SMACK.  The state of affairs has since been changed and in actual sense you cannot talk of Kabojja and Savio being both junior schools for SMACK.

William Kituuka Kiwanuka
    

9 comments:

  1. Mr. William. Why are u misleading people. Where are you getting all this crap from. Are you in your right mind. Mugwanya Prep. School is a brothers school founded by brothers with the help of Stanislous Mugwanya who gave them the land to set up the school. everyone who knows the history of Buganda (Stanislus Mugwanya in particular) knows the story. I studied from the school from P1 to P7 so I know enough about my school.

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  2. Merely attending at Mugwanya does not make you an authority of the origin of the School. In my write up, I informed the readers that there is documentation about this matter at Lubaga. Mind you, I am an authority as regards the History of SMACK, and that was one of a number of discoveries I made as I wrote the SMACK centenary Magazine. First make your research before you give me names. Thank you.

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  4. Maasa Kevin,

    The reason we go to school is among other things to exercise and develop intellect. What you ought to understand is that things went wrong. The Old Boys entrusted the Kabojja Junior School in the hands of the Brothers of Christian Instruction to manage. With time, as things happen, the Brothers took advantage of the school to own it. That school was meant to be an infant school for among others children of Old Boys of SMACK who after P 4 would join Savio. The Brothers took advantage of the situation to make each of these schools independent hence defeating the purpose they were founded for.

    When you are ignorant, accept to be told the truth. There is all the documentary evidence for this if you are interested.

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  5. lies lies and lies
    Mugwanya preparatory School Kabojja is different from Kabojja junior 1st of all.
    as far as I'm concerned mpsk wz started by the brothers of Christian instruction not smack obz.
    it z true dat mpsk initially stopped at p4 n kids later went to savio but y wud t remain dat way even afta all dis tym. things have changed, and it wud be hectic for parents to take their kids from mpsk in p4 to savio for the remaining classes.

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  6. What ever your line of reasoning, I base my self on facts available at the Resource Centre at Lubaga. I am scientific, I don't just go around arguing for the sake of it. The records on how the school was started are there, only if someone fraudulently takes them. The record is part of the Minutes of the Old Boys of St. Mary's College Kisubi. The issue of the inconvenience is there because some people take things they way they wish. To - date as I write, many Old Boys of SMACK are not happy. And someone visionary can restore the status quo. The Brothers of Christian Instruction 'may' have 'taken over' ownership, BUT this does not make them the founders of the school. It is the OBs of SMACK who negotiated with Buganda Government then and got Kabojja land and a grant for two years from Buganda Government. Anything else does not cary the day. It is just the facts.

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  8. Whatever is said, Mugwanya Preparatory School Kabojja is our great school owned by brothers. We are proud of our school as OBs. No one should stand in our way. Long live Brothers, long live Kabojja. we shall live to treasure their sweat and the love Mugwanya had for the young children to have education. All of us were told the history of our school while there.

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  9. I have read your article. Its insightful but it has a lot of gaps. There should always be continuity in the facts. Which sisters are these? Where did they go? You never mention details about Savio. Do you that the person who chaired the meeting that turned Kabojja and Savio to run to P7 and what the motivation was. Reading one document will never bring out all the facts. For example, i have minutes of where my late father was part of meetings that started the centenary rural cooperative society . the now centenary bank group.. The only fact is its catholic founded,.. probably he was representing the church then.. but i keep the meeting minutes with passion to show that organizations evolve and forget the initial members that formed. Centenary bank has never even cared to look for children of the late. His role stopped at that. So, many things happen that may never be traced anywhere.

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