Kibuli's absence from the best-performing schools in UNEB examinations over the past five years seems to be coming to an end when one considers the school's superb performance in last year's UACE examination.

For the first time since the school got its new headmaster Hajj Ibrahim Matovu, Kibuli has featured among the schools whose students topped 2009's Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE).

Kibuli's absence from the perennial high-fliers like Buddo and Namilyango had become a source of unsettling debate among parents and well-wishers of the school about a possible fall in academic standards ever since Hajj Matovu took over from long-serving Twaha Kawaase back in 2003.

This year, however, with so many students scoring highly, including 10 students scoring the maximum 25 points, hope may be returning that perhaps Kibuli is back to where it belongs.

If recent newspaper rankings are anything to go by, Kibuli's 11th position may be reassuring news for many of its well wishers.

Apart from the best performers, Kibuli's overall performance was quite remarkable with just 2 out of a total of 256 students who sat the 2009 UACE exams, failing to score the 2 principle passes needed for entry into government universities.

Najib Bogere (Pictured), who scored 24 points from his Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics (PCB/M) combination, attributed their good performance to hard work by both the students and the teachers.

"We completed the syllabus in the first term and spent the rest of the year revising," adds Bogere.

But given the fact that these were the first S.6 candidates since Matovu took over six years ago, one can interpret the performance as the culmination of a serious reading culture introduced by Matovu six years ago.

As Najib notes, Matovu had to slaughter a goat last Friday to celebrate news of Kibuli's runaway success.

Speaking to The Sunrise on phone, Matovu attributed the result to hard work by both the students and teachers.

Matovu also alluded to sabotage by some teachers who he found at the school as having had a hand in the declining performance over the last five years.

"We got many new teachers who are very interested in ensuring that we succeed. Our laboratories and libraries are better equipped now," Matovu spoke with confidence and vowed to achieve similar successes in the coming years.

Matovu also attributed the performance to exemplary discipline. Before he was transferred to Kibuli, Matovu was the headmaster of Kawempe Moslem Secondary and during his years, the school had its best performance. He has the reputation of being a disciplinarian and a strict enforcer of religious observance.

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