Celebrated educationist Nsumba Lyazi hailed for uniting private institutions 

It’s now a year since seasoned educationist and mathematician Robinson Nsumba Lyazi passed on at St Francis hospital, Nsambya.

A strong advocate of private education institutions during his 19-year tenure at the Education ministry, Nsumba has been hailed for his exceptional service to the sector, writes YUDAYA NANGONZI.

Speaking at the first Robinson Nsumba Lyazi memorial lecture held recently at the Yusuf Lule central teaching facility at Makerere University, educationists, family members, and private school owners praised him for a “job well done”.

Nsumba was described by every speaker as a calm person, a good listener, smart, punctual, disciplined and disciplinarian, religious, social, trustworthy, reliable, receptive, dependable, loving, caring, cooperative, and a mentor.

The lecture was initiated by George Mutekanga, the commissioner of Private Schools and Institutions at the Education ministry.

“Nsumba was my immediate supervisor when I joined the ministry. He was my mentor and left a legacy that is worth celebrating today. He had a contagious smile that lit up the room whenever you met him at the ministry. He was a loyal public servant,” Mutekanga said.

Nsumba joined the Education ministry in 2000 as an assistant commissioner in charge of Comprehensive Education before he was elevated to the commissioner of private schools and institutions and eventually, the director of Basic and Secondary Education – a position he held until retirement in 2018.

Following the 2008 education sector review, Nsumba was remembered for spearheading the formation of private schools and institutions department at the ministry. He once served as chairperson of the Church of Uganda founded Schools.

In her keynote address, the executive director of Mbogo Schools, Hajjat Zaujja Ndifuna, noted that the private schools department during his tenure played a critical role in uniting school proprietors which led to tangible transformations in the sector.

“The private sector is big and characterized by several challenges. However, lack of unity is our biggest hindrance. We are still struggling but he deserves credit for bringing together the various small groups and individual proprietors into one umbrella body which finally gave birth to the Federation of non-state Education Institutions (FENEI),” Ndifuna said.

She added that Nsumba’s intention was to lead a united private sector with a greater lobbying edge, increase funding, and implement policies to ensure nobody is left out.

He trained numerous head teachers and proprietors on the modern management of educational institutions in addition to enhancing public-private partnerships in which more than 1500 private schools implemented Universal Secondary Education by 2011.

“Robinson Nsumba Lyazi went back to his creator but his services to the human race still echo amidst us. Those who witnessed his June 2018 handover of office affirm that Lyazi had indeed achieved more than he had anticipated and was contented for having walked through all the education ladders,” Ndifuna said.

According to Hasadu Kirabira, the chairperson of the National Private Educational Institutions Association of Uganda, Nsumba streamlined the private sector.

“In his wisdom, Nsumba opened several doors for the private sector such as policy formulation and participating in the marking of national examinations. He was a humble, committed, disciplined, and enthusiastic gem in the sector. When he retired from service on August 3, 2018, we publicly commended him for streamlining the sector,” Kirabira said.

EMULATE NSUMBA

The principal of the College of Education and External Studies at Makerere, Prof Anthony Mugagga, challenged educationists to walk in the footsteps of Nsumba, a trailblazer in the sector, to the latter.

“There’s no doubt that Nsumba was a great man but are you still emulating him? Today, we have a challenge of loose morality, especially in Church and Umea-founded schools. Homosexuality and lesbianism have become more prominent in church-founded schools. Where did Nsumba go wrong to leave a shaky foundation today? Head teachers and religious leaders fear talking about these wicked vices [in schools]. When you tell them to speak, they become like a radio which has loose battery cells,” Mugagga said.

He reminded educationists to emulate Nsumba by “standing up for what is right so that tomorrow, we shall not teach fluid education.”

In his memory, the family is set to fulfill his wish of establishing Nsumba Lyazi Memorial Institute – a comprehensive vocational school whose proposed site is Mityana municipality along Namukozi road.

BACKGROUND

Nsumba-Lyazi was born on May 18, 1958, to a prominent tailor in Mityana Jackson Lyazi and Princess Edith Nakayenga. A firstborn of seven children, he went to Bukanaga Nursery and Junior School where he excelled among the best in Mubende. He joined Mityana SS and sat for the East African Certificate of Education (O-level) in 1975.

Due to the lack of an A-level school in his home district of Mityana then, he joined Kololo to pursue Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics in 1977. In 1981, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Double Math from Makerere University.

He also had a Master’s degree in Mathematics from Makerere (1993). Nsumba did a Post-graduate Diploma in Education and passed out as a Physics and Mathematics teacher after school practice at Ndejje SS. He returned to Mityana SS as a teacher, hostel manager, and acting head teacher for more than 15 years – the only school he served – before joining the Education ministry in 2000. He retired in 2018 and died on January 29, 2022.

He is survived by a wife and professional midwife, Ruth Nanziri Nsumba with children and grandchildren.

nangonzi@observer.ug