They also asked for the court to declare that the decision of Koomu to conduct the tests on the applicants and other teachers was null and void, invalid and illegal since it was not within his mandate.
The Nakaseke LCV Chairman Ignatius Koomu has been summoned
by Luwero High Court to defend himself for arbitrarily administering surprise
competence examinations to teachers.
In March, Koomu and education officials
administered the mock examinations to 52 teachers to test their
competency to enable teacher candidates to pass Primary Leaving Examinations.
The results released by Koomu indicated that the poorest performing teacher
scored 27 marks whereas the highest got 92 marks in their subjects.
But the action angered the leaders of the Uganda National
Teachers Union (UNATU) and teachers.
Through their lawyers, JByamukama and Company advocates,
four teachers and UNATU have filed a motion for judicial review at Luwero High
Court saying that Koomu and district action to administer the competence
tests were illegal and could be used in subsequent proceedings to remove them
from the service.
The four teachers include Mathias Mulumba a primary seven teacher
at Timuna Primary School, Adam Kuvuna a teacher at St Kizito Kijjaguzo Primary School,
Phanel Mugisha Godfrey a teacher at Nabiika Primary School and John Ssemakula a
teacher of Nabiika Primary School.
Mulumba scored 45%, Semakula scored 85%, Musana obtained 79% and Kununa received 91% in the mock exams.
The teachers petitioned the court seeking a declaration that
the actions of Koomu and Nakaseke district local governments to administer mock
examinations to test their competence amounted to harassment and degrading
treatment.
They also asked for the court to declare that the decision of
Koomu to conduct the tests on the applicants and other teachers was null and void,
invalid and illegal since it was not within his mandate.
The teachers and UNATU also want an order issued prohibiting
Koomu and his staff from intimidating, harassing and implementing any action that
affects teachers.
They also asked the court to issue a permanent injunction
restraining Koomu and other officials from subjecting teachers to further competence tests.
They also asked the court to order Koomu and the district to pay general
damages to the applicants for the embarrassment and degrading treatment
occasioned to them.
The teachers appended the result lists of mock examinations and
affidavits supporting their motion.
Filbert Baguma the Secretary General of UNATU also filed an
affidavit supporting the motion saying that the ambush of teachers to sit
examinations was illegal and asked the court to declare it as so.
He also noted
that Koomu didn’t have a mandate to test the competence of teachers or carry out
quality control functions.
As a result, the High Court in Luwero has issued a summons to Koomu, Nakaseke district and ordered them to file a defence in the case.
According to the notice issued by Kenneth Tumwebaze
the Assistant Registrar of Luwero High Court, Koomu has been directed to appear
in court on 26th February 2025 at 9; 00 am to defend himself in the
case.
Koomu acknowledged receipt of the notice and is ready to do so because his actions were within his mandate as the chairman of
the district and supervisor of government staff.
Koomu welcomed the case saying once he wins it, he will
exert more pressure on teachers to deliver to the expectations but even if he loses
it no parent will blame him over the poor performance of their children.
He said that the purpose of the competency tests was to find
out why the teachers were not performing to the expectations leaving candidates
to fail and interest School Management Committees to work with headteachers to
supervise them.
Koomu said that the results indicated that some tests were competent and excelled in the examinations but they were not passing the knowledge to learners.
He also noted that others were incompetent and needed refresher courses.
Cue in: “But for me…
Cue out;…next”//
Luganda Byte
// Cue in: “Anti kakati bbo…
Cue out;…ofunyenyo akathente”//
Koomu’s decision stemmed from Primary Leaving Examination
results for 2023 which indicated that 276 candidates (5.6%) out of 4813
candidates that sat examinations failed.
The PLE results indicated that 59% of candidates who sat examinations at Kagango
Mixed Primary School failed, 50% of candidates at Kikamulo C/U failed, 33%
of candidates of Butiikwa Primary School 33% and 16% of candidates of Magoma
Orthodoxy Primary School failed among others.
Nakaseke district demoted four headteachers to classroom
teachers over the poor performance of their candidates and 52 teachers of most
poorly done subjects were ordered to sit competency tests.
