Message From The Education Secretary Arua Diocese

THE SHINING STARS IN THE DARKEST NIGHTS. Things evolve as time passes and this is true for every living organism. It does not occur by chance, but nature has its course. As psychologist Emile Coue affirmed” Every day in every way I am getting better and better”

Rev. Fr. Andrew Inyaga Education Secretary Arua Diocese

We should not be immobilized by the memories of mistakes, in countless yesterdays yet we cannot relive the past. There is always something new, which gets on our ways of life. To have good will, success insurance, to be important, to be admired and to be appreciated in the society. Many times we develop hatred, animosity, Envy, Jealousy, Divisions which are not elements of success. Its is a bare fact that “The more the diamond is cut the more it sparkles”. The change we need is not only in attitude but the actions, which should be positive. The great achievers make mistakes but do not quit the struggle. Let our schools be homes for spiritual development, Discipline, values and academic excellence.

Long live Ombaci. Long live Arua Diocese.

Per aspera ad astra “Through struggles we reach the stars”

Ediofe Cathedral

INTERSCHOOL SPORTS IN THE WEST NILE REGION – A BATTLE FIELD OR NIGHTMARE!!!

Here are some of the key scientifically proven benefits of sports activities:

Rev. Fr. Charles Idraku BOG Chairperson St. Josephs College Ombaci

In the common understanding, sports activities are an important part of the school and education cycle. This I recon is not out of the whims of the education sector to keep the learners busy for no particular reason but because of the benefits that are enshrined therein as proven by science. It goes without say to know that academic learning and sports education complement each other and resemble the two sides of the same coin. If sports education is carried out accompanied with the academic curriculum, the overall personality of the student is increased to quite an extent and you build an all-round personality. Qualities of leadership, sharing, team spirit, and tolerance are learnt from and are well enshrined in sports discipline with its set of rules. As the English saying goes, “All work and no Play makes Jack a Dull Boy;” school academic and co-curricular activities complement each other and are geared towards building an all-round personality. In reality, the essence of sports as proven by scientific research has a myriad of beneficial results for the sports personality, the team, the spectators and the community at large.

7 1. Particularly for the young, sports helps them build a strong internal body system as well as develop a fit and sound body physically. 2. Day to day practice in sports can help students and the young absorb leadership skills. 3. Qualities such as tolerance, patience and tips to handle pressure is well taught by sports. 4. Sports helps in maintaining the physical wellbeing of the individual sports personality. 5. Sports builds the control in the temperament of the sports personality because it has sets of rules that instills discipline. 6. Sports helps to develop skills of the individual sportsmen in the spirit of practice makes perfect. 7. Sports is a source of entertainment, giving time for relaxation from the day to day activities that may be stressful. 8. Sports has become a source of income generation and employment for many in the world; indeed it has become one of the most industrious engagements in the world with so much invested into it. 9. Sports education not only teaches the students to maintain the physical stamina, but also the habit of obedience, discipline, the determination to win, willpower, etc. In as much as the above are some of the benefits of sporting activities, it is frustrating and disheartening to note that sports events among Secondary Schools in the West Nile region and may be the greater North has become a nightmare or rather a battlefield than what it is meant to be. It beats logic that this very important part of the education system is so much abused in our region beyond compare. Is the region not shocked enough by the fact that we are at the tail of the academic sphere in this country,

making us even dare to show our ignorance by exhibiting it in public that since we are weak in class, we shall demonstrate through sports as well for the whole world to know! I love the saying ‘Soccer is Soccer’ meaning in one way or the other, there must be a winner and no team can be the winner always. Could we borrow a leaf from that saying and instead work to build talents rather than breed hatred, malice, personal grudge etc. Why on earth should such a valuable cocurricular activity bring so much destruction, hatred, conflict, etc. even to unsuspecting persons trying to make ends meet as they carry on with their daily chores. For God’s sake, the persons assaulted, looted of their property, pelted with stones as they move on the road or drive, the security personnel etc. are out own parents, brothers, sisters and relatives. What joy does it give you to hurt or even threaten the life of an innocent person in the cause of sports that is meant to bring individuals and communities together as family? Just consider that you participated in such an act and at the end of it all you hear that a friend, relative or a parent was killed in such a process, how would it make you feel? Would you feel proud that you were an active player in such an activity that resulted into the demise of your loved one? As stakeholders in the education sector, which is so dear and at the heart of any form of development, we must all feel ashamed of this status quo in the West Nile region. I may be wrong and may most probably not have done enough research BUT I am tempted to believe that the Secondary School sports activities in the West Nile region seem to be marred with so much violence that it leaves a lot to be desired. I do not have the solution to this high level of indiscipline but I think there is a need for us all to introspect and sooner than later put our ideas together in order to stop this menace. Many questions run to mind when one reflects on this reality: 1. Is it partly due to the unhealed conflict situations that has impacted on the lives of people in our region? Surely even when the school children are relatively calm, the spectators seem to stir up conflict. 2. Is it that the organizers of the sports activities have failed in their duties that they cannot handle the responsibility entrusted unto them? 3. Are the children of this age way beyond us that all the other stakeholders are held hostage by them including the security system? 4. Why is this menace so prevalent at the secondary school level than at the other levels of the education system in West Nile? These and many more questions must continue to occupy the minds of any stakeholder as we reflect on this reality. Key to note here however, is the fact that there is something clearly not in order which need a concerted effort of all the stakeholders. This must however begin with you and me, and we cannot afford to start by pointing fingers at each other but we need to go to the root cause of this problem. In as much as we do soul searching, we urge the students who are at the heart of this challenge to refrain from these acts of violence, as together we seek for a lasting solution.