Mbarara High Old Boys Petition Education Ministry Over Declining Results, Shady School Land Deals

KAMPALA — A group of concerned alumni of Mbarara High School has petitioned the Ministry of Education and Sports seeking a government investigation into declining academic performance, governance failures and alleged irregular handling of school land at the historic institution.

In a petition dated March 2 and filed through Silicon Advocates, the old boys said they were acting to safeguard the legacy of the school founded in 1911, which has long been known for producing prominent leaders in government, business and the church.

“As OBs, we feel duty bound to always uphold, promote and defend the legacy and culture of Mbarara High School,” the petition states.

The alumni say the school has experienced a steady decline in academic performance and discipline over the past five years, something they attribute to weak oversight by the Board of Governors.

“The persistent decline in academic performance and weakening of discipline over a sustained period demonstrates systemic failure of governance and oversight by the Board of Governors,” the lawyers wrote in the letter.

They added that the trend is not temporary but reflects deeper governance problems at the school.

“This prolonged deterioration is not an isolated or short-term fluctuation, but a pattern indicative of neglect of statutory responsibilities,” the petition states, arguing that the board has failed to institute “remedial academic recovery plans,” enforce performance targets for administrators or implement policies to restore discipline.

The alumni also raised concerns about the handling of school land, alleging that property occupied by staff houses was included in a lease offer to Turupati Holdings Ltd without evidence that the Board of Governors consented to the transaction.

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“The BoG has failed to prevent, challenge, or lawfully interrogate these transactions, thereby exposing school assets to unlawful or adverse alienation,” the petition states.

The letter further accuses leaders of the Ankole Diocese — the school’s foundation body under the Church of Uganda — of assuming powers legally reserved for the Board of Governors, including the recruitment of senior administrators.

They cite the reported recruitment of Nicholas Kashaija as deputy headteacher, saying the process was allegedly introduced to the board rather than formally approved.

“According to information available to us from multiple sources, this recruitment was never discussed and approved by the relevant BoG as the mandated organ of the school,” the petition states.

Land

The alumni also questioned infrastructural decisions, including the development of a new sports pitch within the school farm this year, saying there was no record of board approval or a budget authorising the project.

They argue that implementing such projects without board resolutions “undermines the principles of transparency, accountability and corporate governance.”

The petition asks the minister to institute an independent investigation into the declining academic performance of the school, establish the status of its land assets and assess the competence of the current Board of Governors.

Among their key requests is that the government disbands the board and appoints an interim one to restore governance.

“Finds the Board of Governors incompetent and unfit for purpose and disband it and appoint an Interim BoG to restore lawful governance,” the petition says.

The concerns come amid recent controversy over claims that the school’s sports playground was being sold or leased.

Board chairperson William Bazeyo recently dismissed those allegations, insisting the pitch remains intact and that church leadership has not engaged in any discussions to sell or lease it.

“I have had a meeting with the church leadership and was told that as of now the church has not sold nor engaged in discussions to sell or lease our pitch,” Bazeyo said in a letter to stakeholders.

He explained that the school had been allocated about 91.4 acres under a diocesan land master plan and that plans were underway to develop a modern playground and construct a perimeter wall to improve student security.

Bazeyo also said the school had requested funding from President Yoweri Museveni for the fencing project, which he said the president had agreed to support.

The petition has also been copied to the Education Service Commission, the Inspectorate of Government and Parliament’s education committee, raising the prospect of wider scrutiny into governance at the century-old school.