 On 11 June 2025 St Pius Secondary School in Kanungu became one of the Ugandan school to unveil an ICT Club, a joint initiative of the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) and Kisubi Associated Writers Agency (KAWA). The launch forms part of a nationwide drive to give learners the coding, research and digital-problem-solving skills demanded by Uganda’s Digital Transformation Roadmap and the refreshed lower-secondary curriculum. Setting the Scene Founded in 2014, the UCC–KAWA “ICT Clubs” programme has already reached more than 150 schools, with evidence of higher computer-studies pass rates and sharper analytical writing among participants. St Pius joins this network at a moment when Kanungu District is pushing to improve STEM uptake and female participation in science subjects, echoing national priorities spelt out by the Ministry of ICT & National Guidance. Launch-Day Highlights Chief facilitator Noah Okwalinga introduced club goals, membership structure and a year-plan centred on peer-led problem-solving challenges. Learners toured KAWA Connect—an offline e-library packed with local-scene videos, interactive simulations and textbooks that mirror the realities of both rural and urban Uganda, closing the exposure gap for students (and teachers) who have never seen coral reefs, volcanoes or desert landforms first-hand. Hands-on sessions covered installing Visual Studio Code—Microsoft’s lightweight, free IDE that supports Python, JavaScript and C# out of the box—and building a first mobile app with MIT App Inventor’s block-based interface, which research shows lowers the entry barrier for novice programmers. Participation Snapshot Thirty-two students—21 boys and 11 girls—from S.1 to S.6 signed the attendance register, including class prefects and newly elected club leaders. Gender parity remains a challenge nationally, but recent studies indicate that girls who join ICT clubs show a 40 % rise in confidence when tackling coding tasks.  Early Outcomes and Student Voice After three hours of guided practice the learners had produced simple quiz apps and a “lost-and-found” noticeboard prototype. “I’ve always used apps; today I built one,” said S.4 student Miriam Katarina, capturing the programme’s ethos of turning consumers into creators. Practical Challenges A mid-morning blackout highlighted the club’s biggest hurdle—unreliable power that routinely disrupts rural ICT lessons across the country. With only eight laptops available, students had to share devices, slowing individual practice. Recommendations & Next Steps Equipment boost – At least ten additional laptops and a backup power solution (solar or UPS) would let every learner code concurrently and shield sessions from outages. Ongoing mentorship – KAWA will schedule bi-monthly virtual check-ins to troubleshoot projects and showcase student innovations, mirroring the support model in earlier club roll-outs. Structured reporting – Club leaders will submit monthly logs of activities, gender participation and app prototypes to keep momentum high and to inform district-level scaling decisions. Contact Points Facilitator: Noah Okwalinga – 0789 036 604 Patron: Ms Kenema Scovia – 0789 036 604 Head-teacher: Mr Alele Moses – 0772 950 151 Club focal person: Kwenyena Sonia – 0789 086 061 By embedding cutting-edge yet accessible tools such as VS Code and MIT App Inventor into everyday learning, the new ICT Club is poised to transform St Pius learners from passive tech users into agile digital creators—advancing both local aspirations and Uganda’s broader march toward a knowledge-based economy. |
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