Okwee transformed Amach complex beyond classroom

 

 

By Patrick Okino

When George M. Okwee took over as the caretaker Headteacher of Amach Complex secondary School in Lira District in 2019, he inherited more than just a struggling school.

He found dwindling staff, limited students’ accommodation, lack of water source and poor performance barely holding on the school.

The enrollment stood at just 812 and science subjects in particular were lagging behind.

Okwee was a caretaker headteacher from 2019 and later confirmed as a substantive headship of the school established in 1985 in 2021.

For many, the school was simply a stopgap on the long road to nowhere.

Today, the school tells a different story — one of transformation, resilience, growth and introduction of livestock farms.

 “It was clear to me from day one that there must be change in the school,” Okwee said. “We needed to rebuild both the infrastructure and the morale of the school community.”

First task

One of Okwee’s first tasks were to complete a long-stalled project—the boys’ dormitory as a major to provide adequate accommodation for the learners.

He made sure the boys’ dormitory was completed, and today it accommodates 150 students. He completed the building in 2022 and also added another which house 200 learners in 2023.

“It is not only functional but also the most beautiful building in the school, Okwee says boasting on the building.

The dormitory now stands as a beacon of comfort and discipline, offering students a safe and supportive environment to live and study—something many never imagined possible a few years ago.

Expanding Human Capital

At the time Okwee was deployed, Amach Complex Secondary School had only 30 teachers, far below what was needed to serve its growing student population of 800 students then.

Through strategic lobbying and relentless follow-ups with the Ministry of Education and Sports, he managed to increase the number of teaching staff from 30 to 50.

“Human resource is key to quality education. I couldn’t sit back and watch students suffer because there were not enough teachers,” Okwee who teaches physic and mathematics explained.

Even more impressive, Okwee doubled the number of teachers on the government payroll—from just 30 when he arrived to 50 today—reducing financial pressure on the school and ensuring staff stability.

Under Okwee’s stewardship, the school has also seen significant improvements in its physical infrastructure. Three modern staff houses have been constructed, providing decent accommodation for teachers and contributing to staff retention and motivation.

But Okwee didn’t stop there. Understanding the importance of water access in a school setting, he oversaw the drilling of three boreholes, ensuring students and staff have reliable access to clean water—a vital resource that had long been scarce.

Procures school transport

For years, transportation was a challenge at Amach Complex. Whether it was taking students to academic competitions or ferrying supplies, the school struggled with mobility. Okwee turned that around.

“We procured a school pick-up and a school bus,” he said. “This has made it easier to participate in co-curricular activities and respond to emergencies.”

To many Okwee is more than just a headteacher—he is a visionary who saw potential where others saw problems.

“He has changed this school completely,” said Draleky Yuma Charles the school nurse. “Now students are proud to be here, and parents love him.”

“Most of these changes you are witnessing today happened in his regime. We have poultry units which are taken care of by students, an increase in the number of cattle and procurement of school bus,” he said.  

Under his leadership, the school is not just a place for passing exams, but a vibrant institution that supports learning, well-being, and community development.

Unity and Spiritual Development

While many school leaders focus only on academics and infrastructure, Okwee has gone a step further—investing in the spiritual and emotional well-being of his students.

Yuma praised this holistic approach saying Okwee is building the spirit of togetherness and hard work.

“Every week, he invites different religious leaders to fellowship with students and interact with them. He brings in church leaders at least three times a term to talk to students. They are being nurtured well.”

This spiritual engagement has helped build a more disciplined, united, and morally grounded student body.

School farm

The school has established a livestock farm, including poultry keeping, cattle rearing and banana farm.

The farm has 300 birds, 22 herds of cattle and 500 stems of banana which serves as both a learning center and a source of food and income for the school.

“We want our students to leave here with more than academic knowledge. Through livestock farming, they’re gaining practical life skills they can use beyond school,” Okwee explained.

The initiative has been praised by parents and education stakeholders for preparing students to be self-reliant and entrepreneurial in a region where agricultural knowledge is invaluable.

“We are not just preparing students to pass exams. We are preparing them for life,” Okwee says.

Susan Adongo the store and estate manager says the livestock project especially cattle started in 1998 by a Germany company called VECO to boost life skills learning, support the school to raise funds and students diet but later diminished drastically.

Farm raised sh14m

“We started with only four and Lira district local government gave us one making a total of five in number,” she said.

According to Adongo the initiative has had a major impact.

“The cattle multiplied and the school even started slaughtering to supplement students’ diets,” Adongo said. “During COVID-19, the number of cattle had dropped to 15. But when Mr. Okwee came, he helped raise the number to 22.”

Okwee says the farm has two cattle varieties—Boran and Friesians—not only provide milk for the school but have also become a valuable source of income.

He said they sold seven of them and raised Sh14 million last year and it was a big achievement.

 “We’re especially happy that the money was used to construct a staff housing block that accommodates three teachers. This is a great step towards improving staff welfare and the overall learning environment.”

She added that Okwee also revitalized the school’s garden, which had been idle for years.

“Even the school garden was not in use when he arrived. He immediately handed it over to the agriculture department. Now it’s a source of food and practical learning for our students,” Adongo explained.

Harriet Apong, a teacher of Literature and English who joined the school in 2018, remembers the contrast vividly.

“Immediately Mr. Okwee joined, he brought a lot of innovations,” she said. “He oversaw the construction of two staff houses and worked hard to increase the number of science teachers, which had been very low. It wasn’t easy, but he managed.”

Among Okwee’s most praised initiatives was mobilizing parents to support the procurement of a school bus—at a time when transport was a major hurdle for the school.

“He convinced parents to contribute, and it worked,” Apong said. “Without his initiative, the school would not have a bus today.”

Okwee, sounds leadership

George Angulu, the Chairperson of the Parent-Teacher Association, praised Okwee as a hardworking, competent, and visionary leader. “He is extraordinary. I personally rely on him because he has a clear vision for the school,” Angulu said.

He added that although the livestock project was initiated before Okwee joined the school, Okwee has successfully sustained it and even increased the number of animals since taking over.

“I want to sustain the project, and we don’t want it to die because it is helping our children gain practical life skills in livestock rearing, which will benefit them even after they leave school,” Angulu said.

Patrick Olwit, the District Inspector of Schools, noted that in terms of enrollment, the school has grown significantly, admitting a good number of both boys and girls.

 He emphasized that it is currently the only school in Lira District offering Advanced Level (A-Level) education, as all the other schools provide education only up to Ordinary Level (O-Level).

“Despite this, the school is situated in a very safe learning environment, and the fact that it has the highest enrollment in the district shows that parents have trust in the school and its leadership,” Olwit said.

He added that the school recently got a new Chairperson of the Board of Governors, Dr. Laury Ocen, a lecturer at Lira University. Olwit noted that the combined leadership of Dr. Ocen and Okwee is currently driving the ongoing development at the school.

Co-Curricular activities

Okwee added that the school participates in co-curricular activities such as football, athletics, and internal debates. Students who excel in these fields are awarded half bursaries to motivate and nurture their talents.

“Like last year one of our girls did very well in the netball and we were able to give her half bursary,” she added.

Challenges

He says the major challenge is that the school doesn’t have a library, followed by the absence of a multipurpose hall and a computer laboratory.

“The only facility we have is the boardroom; there is no computer laboratory. Additionally, there is inadequate accommodation for teachers, even though we expected all teaching staff to be housed within the school.

He added that the school accommodates 20 teachers on-site, while the rest of the staff have their rent paid for by the school outside the premises.

Personal challenge

Okwee acknowledged that there are personal challenges, as some negative forces often criticize the developments he has brought to the school.

“For example, when I bought the bus, some people questioned the decision, saying that Amach is a big school and should not have settled for only a 40-seater bus,” he said. He admitted that such criticism can sometimes be demoralizing.

Mitigations

Okwee said that to address the accommodation challenge, the school had included provisions in their budget. However, this year, due to the procurement of a bus, accommodation was not budgeted for.

He said the initiative began in 2022 and has continued through 2023 and 2024, with the school currently accommodating 10 teachers on-site.

Regarding the library and laboratory, Okwee stated that the school has already developed proposals and is currently seeking partners to provide support.

Teachers’ motivation

According to Okwee, the school motivates teachers by offering a monthly incentive between h130, 000 to sh300, 000 along with allowances. Teachers with additional responsibilities are regularly assigned and financially supported as a form of motivation. Furthermore, the school provides in-kind incentives, especially during major events.

“The highest incentive a teacher can earn is Sh300, 000, depending on their responsibilities and the number of periods they teach. Those with more periods receive higher incentives, while teachers with fewer periods earn less,” he says.

Performance

According to the performance records in 2019 the school got 8 in Division one, 43 in Division two and 90 in Division three, in 2020 only 3 in Division one, 42 in Division two and 59 in Division three, in 2022 a total of 10 in Division one, 37 in Division two and 56 in Division three.

Facts file

Okwee was born in 1972 in Lira district, did primary at Olilo in 1988, joined Bar secondary school for Uganda Certificate of Education in 1989-1992, Uganda Advance Certificate of Education Dr Obote College 1996, National Teachers College Ngetta for diploma in secondary education doing physics and Mathematics 1996-1998.

Posted to St Katherine secondary school 1998-2014, Lira Town College 2015-2016, Aduku secondary school caretaker deputy headteacher 2017-2019 and Amach Complex as deputy headteacher and later confirmed in 2021.  

Golden tips

According to Okwee, a good teacher should be consistent in their work, make adequate preparations—including proper scheming and lesson planning—build positive relationships with learners, provide effective guidance, and be willing to network with others for professional growth.

Plans

Okwee said that his vision for the school is to see continued improvement in academic performance. To achieve this, the school is networking with high-performing institutions.

“Now that we have transport, we plan to conduct benchmarking visits,” he said. The school intends to identify other institutions at a similar level—those in similar locations and with comparable fee structures—and visit them to learn from their best practices.

He added that establishing a library, science laboratory, and computer room remains a key priority, as these facilities would significantly enhance the school’s progress.

According to Okwee, the school also has another campus at Adyaka trading centre, which currently has only 30 learners. However, there are adequate facilities in place, and the plan is to increase enrollment over time.