Feature: China-donated school ignites education fever in remote Ugandan county

As night falls in the central Ugandan district of Sembabule, Kawanda Church of Uganda Secondary School resonates, beaming a light of hope to the surrounding cattle-keeping communities.

That students rush through corridors to go and revise their books is not common sight in this part of the country, where many cattle keepers have long had a mindset of sending their children to graze cows instead of going to school.

The game changer came in 2009, when the Chinese government constructed a modern secondary school at 750,000 U.S. dollars in this remote area. It was the first secondary school in the sub-county which stretches over a radius of 40 km.

The school which is now called Kawanda Church of Uganda China-Uganda Friendship School was the second school donated by the Chinese government to Uganda after a similar one was constructed in Kanungu district, western Uganda.

Children then, after completing the primary level, would drop out of school as there was no secondary school. Those whose parents were rich would be taken to far-away schools.

China's construction of a secondary school therefore was a blessing to the community, especially to the poor.

"With the coming of this school ... the rich and poor are both accessing education," Patrick Muhwezi, the head teacher of the school, told Xinhua in an interview.

"They (parents) have now come to understand that attending secondary school is almost becoming compulsory to the community," Muhwezi said.

The changing mindset can be evidenced by the school's student number, which has increased to over 300 from six when it opened.

The school has now grown to have advanced secondary level. It started with ordinary level, but in 2014, it opened doors to students who want to continue with advanced secondary school level.

The establishment of modern structures in the school attracted more students. Some students walked a distance of close to 20 km a day to access the school. In response, the school management decided to change some of the rooms to a girls and boys hostel.

SOLAR POWER

Over the years, several Chinese companies have visited the school in a bid to promote people-to-people relation between the Chinese and Ugandans.

One company offered the school a solar system to enable the students to read at night just like their counterparts in urban areas.

The solar offer was so big that the school could share some of the generated power with the neighboring primary school and one of the elders who offered part of the land on which the school was constructed.

Following the availability of power, the school is being piloted as an e-learning center. According to the head teacher, trials have already been carried out with one of the classes being linked with a school in China.

Muhwezi said after the successful trials, the school management, parents and the political leadership are now trying to link the school to some of the top ones in the country.

There are now wishes for the school to be further expanded to accommodate more students.

Paul Wambuzi, a top district education officer, told Xinhua that looking at the future of the school, there is need for the government and its partners to construct a students' hostel.

Wambuzi argued that this would be able to cater for the increasing number of students who travel from far to be able to access education. Enditem