On November 29, 2021, Can JOHN FRED KAZIBWE was appointed headmaster of King’s College Budo. A lay canon and lawyer by training, Kazibwe has been a teacher for the past 33 years and is the former headmaster of Mengo SS. Over the past four years, Budo has transformed in many ways. On March 16, he formally retired from active service and handed over the reins to his deputy, Godfrey Kasamba. In a recent interview with The Observer, he reflected on his time at Uganda’s most prestigious school. “ I want to thank God for being the 14th headmaster of King’s College Budo and it has been a pleasure to serve in this great institution and to God be the glory,” he says. “I’ve been in the teaching profession for so long and I think there is nothing as good as that, because you see yourself influencing young ones and they turn into people you would love to see. I want to thank God for that opportunity. Our vision when we came to this school was to make it a viable venture.” Kazibwe reasons that in any business venture, one ought to reach that ideal point where one can fund one’s own budget. This necessitated the expansion of the facilities and increasing of student numbers at the school. “We started with increasing the dormitory space by constructing Grace house, which not only increased the number of girls, but also increased the number of students in the school. We also expanded our Australia house which currently accomodates 390 students. In all, we increased the student numbers from 1,780 to 2,600.” IMPROVED FINANCES Importantly, Kazibwe notes that they have also increased the resources that the school gets. For instance, under his tenure, the school annual budget grew from Shs 7bn billion to Shs 25 billion and because of that growth, the school has been able to do the several projects using its own cashflow. “We have used our resources to do our businesses and projects without borrowing. We have not borrowed a single coin. We have used our cashflow and donations to pay off all our debts; specifically, there was a bank debt of Shs 2.8 billion that was acquired to do the perimeter wall and the headmaster’s house. We paid it off. We don’t owe a coin to anybody,” he says. To Kazibwe, development is simply the quantitative and qualitative increase in the volume of goods and services. It is from this that he reasons that the school has increased the number of students without compromising the quality of learning. He also points out the improvement in the quality of student life. “Students are now sleeping in better spaces, having better facilities. We moved on from latrines to water- based toilets; from blackboards to interacting boards; from congested classes to spacious classes and teaching has become enjoyable and impactful. I want to thank God for that,” he says. Kazibwe attributes this success to teamwork, having worked well with all stakeholders, including the government, Buganda kingdom, the Anglican church, the board, PTA and administrators and also the teaching and non-teaching staff. “It has been a peaceful period. I want to thank all of them for affording me the opportunity to serve with them. We have done many things right but we cannot be proud as individuals. We return our glory to God,” he says. GLOBAL OUTREACH During this time, the school has been exposed to global challenges, benchmarking best practices at universities such as Cambridge and Oxford. “We have also been to India, Greece, Japan, Korea, among others. When you do that, you are challenged to become globally competitive and to look for more opportunities and become better than what you are. We have strived to make Budo a very good school in a definition fitting global term. During this time, we have been frugal and practiced ingenuity in all our finances,” he says. “Together with my teaching staff, we have touched souls, we have improved ourselves in form of welfare by being accommodated in better spaces, improved our exposure through attending workshops and seminars and that has improved our net worth. The value of a teacher at King’s College Budo has also grown because of that. We have taken care of our health to the extent that everybody in Budo is insured so that we work with a peace of mind.” He also says that currently, the school is working to establish teacher-working centers, whereby a teacher workspace can put them in the caliber of a real working class so that they are not only limited to a staff room but have private working spaces to prepare and plan. During his tenure, one fundamental change in King’s College Budo has been sorting the problem of water. “Specifically, we want to thank Sabasajja Kabaka. He gave us the land and that helped us to partner with National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) for a streamlined flow of water. Now, we have reliable water supply at the school. Nobody looks for water. There are no moving jerrycans and buckets. We are using flush toilets,” he says. It is also worth noting that last year, the Kabaka renewed the school’s 186-acre lease for the next 99 years. “We want to thank the Kabaka and the government of Uganda for that generosity to King’s College Budo. I also want to thank the church. They have trusted me. They have enabled me.” SOLID SPORTS LEGACY Over the past three years, Budo has won the national schools rugby championship and are also the national champions in schools golf. “Generally, we have improved sports facilities. For example, three new basketball courts have been set up, one specifically for girls. Even in co-curricular activities, we have laboured to improve. In schools debate, we are the national champions,” he says. FINAL REMARKS Lastly, he thanks dear wife, Dr Ann Kazibwe. “She is the best I have. I want to thank my children Jotham, Joanna and Angela. You have been there for dad. I want to thank his family, friends because they have been good,” he says. “For staff, you have to continue doing what you have to do. For my dear students, you know what you have to do. You need to push beyond the limit. This world is not for people who waste time. It is people who push for what they want. Always be good because when you do good, you feel good and when you feel good, you do good.”The post Inside Kazibwe’s four fulfilling years as King’s College Budo headmaster appeared first on The Observer.