Newly arrived bright scholarship students from needy rural communities
Every school that receives substantial support from Uganda Humanist Schools Trust is registered as a not-for-profit charity. We feel that this protects the interests of students, staff and our supporters who make donations to the schools.
Schools we support share these not-for-profit characteristics:
They are managed by a School Director with Board of co-directors.
UHST nurtures a partnership arrangement with the schools, and most have invited a UHST trustee to join their Board of Management.
Each school is a charitable company in its own rights.
Money in the school bank account is ring-fenced for use solely by the school.
School accounts are supervised and externally audited by a Ugandan public service accountant, paid by UHST.
Local directors may receive a salary as a payment for work they do for the school e.g. Director involved in the day-to-day running of the school or working as Headteacher.
Apart from receiving a salary for work done, nobody can withdraw funds from the school account for personal use.
The above procedures ensure that all money given to our Humanist schools, as local fee income or grants funded by UHST supporters, can only be used to cover school running costs or for improvements in educational standards and student welfare. Should a surplus arise at any time (a rare occurrence) it must be ploughed back into the school and is not used to line personal pockets.
Steve Hurd and Dan Kasanda the Humanist Schools’ auditor
Our aim is for schools to become self-sustaining and independent, but this is a long process. The first essential is to develop the capacity to cover essential school running costs from local funds. Most of our schools have reached this stage. They have sufficient local fee income to pay salaries, buy school food and firewood for cooking. So, funds donated by UHST supporters are used to support school improvement: books, learning resources, essential new infrastructure such as classrooms, science and computer labs, clinics and maintenance of sanitation, water supply and power.
Schools are faced with stark choices on fee income:
Set fees too low and the school fails due to lack of funds.
Set fees too high and children from poorer families are excluded.
What to do when parents fall into arrears? Appeal to their better nature to pay or exclude their children? Letting off one family, without good reason, may provoke an epidemic of non-payment.
Each school exercises discretion and gives local bursaries to help the neediest pay at least part fees – UHST supporters provide grants to help the schools with this.
UHST supporters provide over 140 scholarships to enable bright but needy children to attend the Humanist schools – such scholarships provide a level of basic income to the schools and underwrite their running costs.
Although UHST has maintained a long-term partnership with the schools we support, we encourage them to regard outside funding as temporary windfall so that they are always ready to cope on their own.
Paying teachers is a major challenge for schools.
Due to the high unemployment rates some schools can find poorly qualified teachers who will work for very low pay. They cannot do this in shortage subjects such as Mathematics and Science, where government schools have set high benchmark levels of salaries. We encourage our schools to pay teachers fairly. We feel that if teachers are adequately paid, then they are more likely to have a positive attitude toward working for the school. This is good for students and promotes the following salary virtuous circle:
Well paid staff are happier and willing to work hard for the school.
Happy staff mean happy students and more learning.
Happy students produce good results.
Good results make the school more popular.
As popularity rises parents are more willing to pay fees.
Higher fee income enables the school to pay decent salaries and attract and retain good teachers.
Schools are beginning to appreciate that “low pay is a false economy!”
Donors who give money to help schools, do so altruistically.
They want little in return. However, we try to impress on our schools that if they want to maintain the goodwill and long-term commitment of supporters, they should try to put themselves in the donors shoes. What would they want if they were school donors? We suggest to them that the following are important:
To be able to get information about your school. They need to know that you can be trusted. Being a member of the new organisation, Coalition of Humanist Schools in Uganda (CHSU), shows that your school aim to uphold a Humanist Ethos and maintain certain standards.
Good & regular communication – news, stories, pictures.
A full account of how donor money has been used and the difference it has made.
Long-term supporters want to see evidence of rising education and welfare standards.
A simple thank you for the support they have provided.
Early in the days of the Humanist Schools movement in Uganda, back in 2009, when there were only three schools, they formed a voluntary association, which they called Uganda Humanist Schools Association. With help from UHST, the association created a website and ran the first two conferences for teachers in Humanist Schools in Uganda and had a very successful Humanist Ethos Project with additional support from Humanists International.
Over the years, the number of Humanist schools in Uganda has grown. We had representatives from 14 schools at the 3rd schools conference just concluded, but there are at least another 4 Humanist schools that we have heard about.
For the schools’ voices to be heard within the Ministry of Education and Sports, it has become necessary to formally register the schools’ organisation as an official body. The registration process is moving forward, but the registar rejected the UHSA name because it was too close to the Uganda Humanist Association (UHASSO). In fact, the first official at the registry, a Christian, refused to register an association containing the word “Humanist”. Fortunately, after appeal, the following name has been accepted: Coalition of Humanist Schools in Uganda (CHSA).
At the 3rd Schools’ Conference, held at Isaac Newton Schools, a steering committee was formed from among the school Directors and Headteachers present and a draft constitution was approved.
Meeting on the Constitution
Founding members of CHSA
Everyone is keen for the Coalition to play an important part in sharing good practice among the schools and in representing the schools to the wider public and the Ministry.
The final day of the 3rd Humanist Schools’ Conference was devoted to developing a common understanding of Humanism and how to apply it in schools. Peter Kisirinya and I were joint facilitators for the session which included consideration of:
principles of Positive Humanism most relevant to schools in Uganda.
compatibility of humanism with religion, theism, deism, atheism and agnosticism.
The Golden Rule, Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
fostering mutual respect and fellowship in Humanist schools, which welcome children and teachers from differeent Christian and Muslim traditions.
appropriate attitudes towards wearing religious symbols, clothing and prayer in school.
There were reflective and amusing stories and anecdotes from Humanist school directors about how about how they personally came to adopt a humanist philosophy and how they apply it in running their schools. Peter Kisirinya of Isaac Newton Humanist Schools (shown left) explained how his Uganda Biology teacher in a catholic school encouraged the class to consider whether evolution was compatible with religious teaching and how belief might at times lead to a suspension of reason. Robert Bwambale (Kasese Humanist Schools) spoke of his trials as an orphan being moved between Christian and Muslim carers and how he wanted to set up school that respected the rights of the child to become a free thinker. Rogers Muwanguzi (Eagle’s View Humanist Primary) explained how he learned of Humanism as a student of Mustard Seed Humanist Secondary School. It inspired him to start his own school based upon the principles of reason, compassion and self-reliance.
There was a healthy disagreement on attitudes towards God. However, there was a broad consensus that schools should regard religious belief as a matter of personal choice and conscience. What mattered was our behaviour towards each other. It was important to foster an inclusive, mutually caring and happy school community with Humanist values. It was agreed that it is possible to be Christian and Humanist or Muslim and Humanist. Humanist values are relevant to all of humanity.
All present received copies of “Humfry Hippo Moves Home”, which exemplifies the Golden Rule in an accessible way for young children. They also received the booklet, “Developing a Humanist Ethos in Uganda Schools”, containing activities for students that illustrate the Ten Commitments propounded by the American Humanist Association.
The workshop ended with a genuine buzz of excitement among the teachers, many of whom were hearing about Humanism for their first time.
Posted: September 6, 2023 by Steve Hurd
Humanist Schools are Charities
Every school that receives substantial support from Uganda Humanist Schools Trust is registered as a not-for-profit charity. We feel that this protects the interests of students, staff and our supporters who make donations to the schools.
Schools we support share these not-for-profit characteristics:
The above procedures ensure that all money given to our Humanist schools, as local fee income or grants funded by UHST supporters, can only be used to cover school running costs or for improvements in educational standards and student welfare. Should a surplus arise at any time (a rare occurrence) it must be ploughed back into the school and is not used to line personal pockets.
Our aim is for schools to become self-sustaining and independent, but this is a long process. The first essential is to develop the capacity to cover essential school running costs from local funds. Most of our schools have reached this stage. They have sufficient local fee income to pay salaries, buy school food and firewood for cooking. So, funds donated by UHST supporters are used to support school improvement: books, learning resources, essential new infrastructure such as classrooms, science and computer labs, clinics and maintenance of sanitation, water supply and power.
Schools are faced with stark choices on fee income:
Although UHST has maintained a long-term partnership with the schools we support, we encourage them to regard outside funding as temporary windfall so that they are always ready to cope on their own.
Paying teachers is a major challenge for schools.
Due to the high unemployment rates some schools can find poorly qualified teachers who will work for very low pay. They cannot do this in shortage subjects such as Mathematics and Science, where government schools have set high benchmark levels of salaries. We encourage our schools to pay teachers fairly. We feel that if teachers are adequately paid, then they are more likely to have a positive attitude toward working for the school. This is good for students and promotes the following salary virtuous circle:
Schools are beginning to appreciate that “low pay is a false economy!”
Donors who give money to help schools, do so altruistically.
They want little in return. However, we try to impress on our schools that if they want to maintain the goodwill and long-term commitment of supporters, they should try to put themselves in the donors shoes. What would they want if they were school donors? We suggest to them that the following are important:
Posted: September 3, 2023 by Steve Hurd
Humanist schools’ Coalition
Early in the days of the Humanist Schools movement in Uganda, back in 2009, when there were only three schools, they formed a voluntary association, which they called Uganda Humanist Schools Association. With help from UHST, the association created a website and ran the first two conferences for teachers in Humanist Schools in Uganda and had a very successful Humanist Ethos Project with additional support from Humanists International.
Over the years, the number of Humanist schools in Uganda has grown. We had representatives from 14 schools at the 3rd schools conference just concluded, but there are at least another 4 Humanist schools that we have heard about.
For the schools’ voices to be heard within the Ministry of Education and Sports, it has become necessary to formally register the schools’ organisation as an official body. The registration process is moving forward, but the registar rejected the UHSA name because it was too close to the Uganda Humanist Association (UHASSO). In fact, the first official at the registry, a Christian, refused to register an association containing the word “Humanist”. Fortunately, after appeal, the following name has been accepted: Coalition of Humanist Schools in Uganda (CHSA).
At the 3rd Schools’ Conference, held at Isaac Newton Schools, a steering committee was formed from among the school Directors and Headteachers present and a draft constitution was approved.
Everyone is keen for the Coalition to play an important part in sharing good practice among the schools and in representing the schools to the wider public and the Ministry.
Posted: September 3, 2023 by Steve Hurd
Fostering a Humanist Ethos in Uganda Schools
The final day of the 3rd Humanist Schools’ Conference was devoted to developing a common understanding of Humanism and how to apply it in schools. Peter Kisirinya and I were joint facilitators for the session which included consideration of:
There were reflective and amusing stories and anecdotes from Humanist school directors about how about how they personally came to adopt a humanist philosophy and how they apply it in running their schools. Peter Kisirinya of Isaac Newton Humanist Schools (shown left) explained how his Uganda Biology teacher in a catholic school encouraged the class to consider whether evolution was compatible with religious teaching and how belief might at times lead to a suspension of reason. Robert Bwambale (Kasese Humanist Schools) spoke of his trials as an orphan being moved between Christian and Muslim carers and how he wanted to set up school that respected the rights of the child to become a free thinker. Rogers Muwanguzi (Eagle’s View Humanist Primary) explained how he learned of Humanism as a student of Mustard Seed Humanist Secondary School. It inspired him to start his own school based upon the principles of reason, compassion and self-reliance.
There was a healthy disagreement on attitudes towards God. However, there was a broad consensus that schools should regard religious belief as a matter of personal choice and conscience. What mattered was our behaviour towards each other. It was important to foster an inclusive, mutually caring and happy school community with Humanist values. It was agreed that it is possible to be Christian and Humanist or Muslim and Humanist. Humanist values are relevant to all of humanity.
All present received copies of “Humfry Hippo Moves Home”, which exemplifies the Golden Rule in an accessible way for young children. They also received the booklet, “Developing a Humanist Ethos in Uganda Schools”, containing activities for students that illustrate the Ten Commitments propounded by the American Humanist Association.
The workshop ended with a genuine buzz of excitement among the teachers, many of whom were hearing about Humanism for their first time.