Payday For Youthful Farmers In School

8th July 2016 will go down in History at Gayaza High School when we witnessed the rebirth of Education that counts. Senior Six and Senior Four students received payment after selling their Banana produce to the school and the public markets. Each student in these classes owns a plant and looks after it from planting the sucker to harvest time.

This is a complete chain of activities that teach quite a number of life skills including; entrepreneurship, teamwork, collaboration, consistency, patience and others. On the other hand it brings science concepts to life and in particular it has allowed me as a teacher to teach practical mathematics as opposed to keeping it theoretical.

From planting the suckers in straight lines and applying manure at a point that is equidistant from four plants making use of the concept of Locus,planning and forecasting yields and sales using the concepts of Linear programming, checking on the rates of growth as compared to the varying seasons to  calculating the sales, costs and profits is a worthwhile effort.

The minds of these children are not the usual we see in schools but those that can now deliver extension services to their communities and can mobilise their fellow youth for action towards;food security,climate change,entrepreneurship,fighting poverty and community service.I am optimistic that this is a model that can be replicated at all levels of education and in any part of this country and the World. I am more than sure that our students have taken with them the set curriculum concepts as well as a lifelong skill towards sustainability of our communities in future.

I thank Mr & Mrs. Walugembe who shared the same vision with us and sponsored this project that will continue now that the Senior Five and Senior three students have adopted plants from their elder sisters.