Unia Nakityo, a School Support Manager, based in our central office in Kampala, Uganda, describes a typical day at PEAS, including her favourite and most challenging aspect of her job.
What is your role at PEAS?
As a School Support Manager, I ensure that all school departments are operating at to standard and in accordance with expectations, resulting in continual school improvement.
What does a typical day involve?
Meetings and discussions with School Leadership Teams, conducting teacher training sessions/CPD, observing and giving feedback on lessons, and checking and offering strategic support on school finances.
What is the best thing about working for PEAS?
The best thing about working for PEAS is the opportunity to build school teams that nurture and empower children to become responsible and self-reliant citizens.
What are the biggest challenges?
The biggest challenges include:
-
poor community mindsets about child safeguarding,
-
failure by the communities to attach value to education,
-
minimum support & cooperation from the community towards their children’s education,
-
parents’ failure to raise the low fees for their children’s education in anticipation of free services all the time.
What do you hope to achieve in your role over the next year?
-
To see stronger school systems and school leadership teams,
-
schools enrolling to capacity which is an indicator of improved response and trust from the community,
-
a greater number of network schools becoming self-sustaining and contributing to the network reserve, and
-
a narrowed gender performance gap.
What does education mean to you?
A form of empowerment given to an individual for self-sustainability.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
The best piece of advice I have been given is:
“If I want people to listen to me more, I should start by listening to them more. To open my mind to learn more from others, because the mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size. It’s better to listen in order to learn more.”