Col Emmy Katabazi, the Deputy Director General of the Internal Security Organization (ISO), who was the first General Secretary of the Uganda National Students Association (UNSA), has asked the student leaders to fully participate in transforming society.
Col Katabazi, who was presiding over the symposium for the election of new UNSA leaders in Namutamba district, eastern Uganda, asked the participants to contribute to the existing progress in the country, citing supporting government programs like the Parish Development Model (PDM) in order to join the money economy and fight the corruption involved.
“Changing this world is through your full positive participation. As leaders, your job is to be problem solvers but not spectators. Your positions can only be useful if you are participating in transforming society,” he said.
He highlighted the leadership challenges in the country, saying that scarcity of leaders is the main problem in Uganda and it is affecting progress. He, therefore, asked the youngsters to be change agents in society.
The Deputy Director General referred to the student leaders as a driving engine of the youth of the country who should work to transform the education system into the education of liberation and progress.
“You are not a leader of sugarcane planting and poverty promotion; you are a revolutionary leader,” Col Katabazi emphasized, adding that UNSA is a vital component of socio-economic transformation.
Col Katabazi beseeched participants to interest themselves in acquiring knowledge and skills in order to be able to transform the country and ensure socio-economic progress, pointing out that when one lacks skills, they cannot transform society.
When interviewing students who had converged for the symposium, they expressed their concerns and challenges they face as young people, which has led to increased rates of school dropouts.
Flavia Nabilabi, a student of Busoga Nsadhu Memorial Technical Institute, aired out the lack of sanitary pads, saying that other districts in the Busoga sub-region were given pads but Namutamba as a district was left out.
“When it came to supplying sanitary pads in the Busoga sub-region, Namutamba district was not considered, so this has affected so many girls that others have dropped out of school.
The students highlighted the scarcity of teaching staff, which they said has greatly affected the education system in the region.
The students further noted the high levels of school dropouts and teenage pregnancies, which they attributed to corruption tendencies by leaders during enrollment of students in institutions of learning.
“Leaders consider a certain category of students, and the target group meant to benefit from the scholarships is left out,” the students revealed.
The Busoga sub-region has for long suffered from high poverty levels, and the biggest percentage of people are still stuck in sugarcane planting, while a few are adopting commercialized agriculture.
The symposium was attended by Col Sam Kirya, the Namutumba District security team, UNSA leadership, Basoga Nsadhu leadership, and other student leaders from different schools, including but not limited to Basoga Nsadhu Memorial Technical Institute, which was the host school, Destiny Secondary School, Agape Secondary School, Bukonte Seed School, and Namutamba Central High School, among others.
As the first General Secretary of UNSA, Col Katabazi drafted the constitution that is currently government, the association. The symposium is held annually to have new leaders on the block of the association.
