Humanist

I am not 100 percent certain of the exact dates, but I know that I had my formal education at Lake Victoria School Entebbe from my Primary One to Primary Three; after which I was taken to boarding school. Using my date of birth, I estimate that the period I was at the school was anywhere from 1975 to 1979.

My older siblings, Pamela Asire-Isukali and Fred Tukei, pictured a 1970s photo (post profile photo) with my mum and I, also attended Lake Victoria School, longer than I did, including when I was there. After us, our siblings James Okoit (aka Obone) and Grace Achom, also attended the school.

At the time I was there, the school was divided into two sections. The lower school (Primary One to Primary Two) and the upper school (Primary Three to Primary Seven), separated by about 200 metres, but within the same enclosure. In between the two schools was a large grass field, which we used for extra curricula activities, including physical education, especially sporting activities, among others.

Never did I know then that the two schools had prior existed for an entirely different reason from the one that I thought. Founded in 1924, when Uganda was a Protectorate of the British Empire (1894-1962), the purposes of the two schools within the same enclosure was racial segregation.

What I knew as the lower school, at the founding of the school was the “Common School” for children of high-ranking civil servants and the royals of the first nations of Uganda. What I knew to be the upper school, at the founding of the school was reserved for ‘white children only’.

Apparently, at the time, also, it was a ‘white teachers only’ school, including the “Common School”. And so, as the current Headteacher of the school, Mr. Steven Nabende, as part of his speech, gave us the racial segregation history of the school, I was astonished at how I was learning this for the first time!

My prior ignorance of the history of racial segregation at Lake Victoria School justifies the importance of the Pride of Entebbe initiative to organise the first Lake Victoria School Alumni Homecoming, which was held on Saturday, 2^nd December 2023, at the school grounds. I certainly do home that this becomes an annual event.

“When the colonialists left, the school (Lake Victoria School Entebbe) remained in the hands of the government and was restricted to teach only children of civil servants. But with the introduction of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme in 1997, the school was opened to all children and the majority currently come from impoverished families.”

Eve Muganga in Monitor

Indeed, when the Headteacher, during his speech, asked the alumni present by show of hands to indicate that their children are current pupils of the school, none present put up their hands. The well to do of Entebbe, including civil servants, clearly no longer choose Lake Victoria School as the first priority school for their children, which explains the current woes and dilapidated condition of the school.

“During our school days, we used to call Lake Victoria School a European school, but it is currently in shambles.”

Hon. Michael Kakembo, Entebbe Municipality Member of Parliament (quoted in Monitor)

The sentiments expressed by Hon. Kakembo were similarly expressed by the alumni gathered at our first homecoming. Indeed, a major reason why the homecoming was organised for us to reconnect and be inspired to give back to the school that contributed make us who we are today.

Photo of a sheet from my workbook while I was at Lake Victoria School. One of the things that we reminisced on a lot during our first alumni homecoming was the manner in which we were taught the English language – reading, writing, comprehension, diction, etc., while we were at the school.