BY DANIEL MUMBYA: The chairperson of head teachers of private schools in Iganga Hajji Mpata Asuman has urged all secondary schools to embrace patriotism ideology which has done more good than harm in both government and private schools.
Mpata said patriotism trainings have reduced on high school demonstrations and fire outbreaks caused by peer pressures from different school managements and competitors in the education sector. Mpata remarked at the pass out of 3,056 students of senior one and senior five from different schools at Iganga Municipal council primary schools.
Mpata added patriotism has created a bridge of unity and peace among secondary schools as compared to previous years where there was school conflicts which resulted in to death of students,damaging of school properties and insecurity in the community. Student protests were leading to poor performance of students and creation of bad image to the teachers and board governors.
He appealed to parents and head teachers to eliminate political issues from schools because many schools have become training grounds for terrorism activities. He said politics in schools are making students have political based differences. This he said has led to decline of academic performance more especially in Islamic based schools.
He called upon the parents to promote and teacher their children religious education to promote faith and fear in their respective religion which will form a God fearing nation and it reduces on family conflicts. Meanwhile the Iganga district patriotism coordinator Zakaria Kisonsole Waiswa has highlighted on the aims of patriotism clubs which include increasing the body immunity of students through physical practice while dramas improve students health and do not bother about engaging in sexual activities.
Many students have been involved in political demonstrations due to lack of love for their country that’s why in patriotism there are slogans like “I love Uganda”,”am proud to be a Ugandan”,”am royal to Uganda ” which encourages them to know more about their country and in the same period they gain political theories about the background of their country.
Zakaria elaborated to the parents that patriotism has reduced on the number of early pregnancy and high spread of HIV to young people because in the due course they receive counseling from different counselors of various sectors in the health and public sector.
Finally he appealed to the government to provide a budget of patriotism to schools because it has led to a number of schools to drop out from patriotism.