I have written this tribute as a former student of the late Ongom Livingstone Ongom, someone who worked closely with him in adult life, and a nephew of the Palamyek clan where he belonged.
March 15 marked exactly six years since the demise of David Livingstone Ongom, renowned for his long time as secretary of Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb). Ongom had a profound influence on Uganda’s education sector right from the sixties until his retirement in the nineties.
I first met DL, as we often referred to him, in late 1967 when he came to do his teaching practice at Lango College. At the time, he was pursuing a postgraduate diploma in Education (PGDE) at Makerere University.
When he completed his PGDE the following year, he was posted to Lango College where he built a solid foundation for his career as a teacher, scientist, educationalist, football coach and a choir master.
THE TEACHER AND SCIENTIST
At Lango College, Ongom taught both Physics and Mathematics. When he joined, Lango College had its pioneer A-Level intake but he was assigned to teach O-level. He taught us very meticulously. He inspired us. He was passionate about his tasks. To the best of his ability, he made time for every student to make sure they understood the subject.
Even the average students appreciated his efforts in making sure he brought home the subject matter. He had loud and an infectious laughter. Ongom was a very patient teacher. He had time for the slow learners.
His approach to difficult subjects like relative velocity made slow learners get it. Students were mesmerized by his keenness on practical work. He constructed solar panels on a mini scale that made students relate to the conversion of solar energy to electricity through photo-voltaic cells. In 1968 when Lango College became an A-level school, the Scottish HM, Douglas Hugh Ross, was reluctant to deploy Africans to teach at A-level.
Scores of young Britons arrived to take up some teaching positions. One, of particular interest, was a bulky short Scottish also called Ross who came to teach Physics. Word soon got around that he was not up to the task and that Ongom would first help him organize his lessons and solve problems in the staff room before giving his lectures.
Students wanted Ongom to take over but the HM would have none of that. In 1969, as we were told, when the subject of Nuclear Physics became too hot for Ross, the Physicist, DL was formally invited to share some components of the A-Level Physics with the former.
One year later in 1970, he took over the full responsibility for teaching A-Level Physics. The public secret that DL was propping Ross, the physicist, did not go well with the 1969 Senior 4 candidates who had intention to do PCM at A-level.
Quietly four of us, who were damn good at mathematics and physics, conspired that we put our first choices to either King’s College Budo or School of Science and Mathematics at the then Uganda Technical College now Kyambogo University; the only two schools in the country that offered physics and Double Mathematics (Pure Maths and Applied Maths).
We all did but when admissions came out after O-level results were released I was admitted to my first choice at Kyambogo but our best colleague, the Late Dr Patrice Ameny, was admitted to Lango College!
Unfortunately for him, the HM would not allow him to go to Budo, his choice had been changed. Ameny was too compliant and bright and so the HM couldn’t let him go.
THE CAREER EDUCATIONIST
Ongom was a born an Educationist. After completing his BSc in Nairobi University College, he was posted to the Geological Department as a Geo-Physicist. He worked for a short time. Among the projects he boasted of was the siting and development of water sources for Kitgum High School that had just been opened in 1967.
He told me he really wanted to teach so he resigned from that position and applied to Makerere University to pursue a Post-graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) in July 1967. This was the beginning of his career in Education.
Ongom left Lango College in 1970 to join the National Teachers College (NTC), Kyambogo initially as a Physics Lecturer and later as Deputy Director. His students spoke very highly of him.
Later on, in 1976 he moved on to become the Deputy Secretary in charge of Research, Test Development and Publications with the then East African Examinations Council (EAEC), Uganda Regional Office. Ongom’s tenure at the EAEC was interrupted by the security situation in the country which forced him to flee with his family to Kenya.
In Kenya, he quickly found a teaching job at Pangani Girls School in Nairobi. He worked in Kenya until Idi Amin was overthrown and then he returned to Uganda. Ongom returned to the EAEC as Deputy Secretary in charge of Administration.
When the EAEC was dissolved in 1980, he became part of the pioneer staff of the newly established Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) as Senior Deputy Secretary. His performance was exemplary such that when, in 1984, the then Secretary, Eriaku, died suddenly, Ongom was appointed in his place.
Ongom met many challenges in Uneb, among them was the containment of the integrity of the examination processes. Up till 1992, all post-primary Examination papers were printed in UK. Thereafter, Government decided that Examination papers be printed in Uganda.
Ongom had strong reservations about it on the ground that the country did not have the institutional set up to do so effectively and curb leakages from the non-security printing presses in the country.
His stance was not well received by some people because they thought either Ongom did not want the country to develop capacity to be self¬-sustaining, was a saboteur or he had pecuniary motives. None of the three were true.
Ongom foresaw the difficulties Uneb would face in maintaining secrecy right from printing to distribution and in fact when the decision was taken to print the Examination papers in Uganda, the initial outcome was disastrous. Some Uneb staff and printery staff connived with persons who wanted to make quick money out of the papers and Examination leakages became a national concern.
However, as time went by more innovative ways were brought on board to minimize Examination leakages from the printeries. During Ongom’s tenure as Secretary Uneb, government secured World Bank loan to construct a new Headquarters, incorporating a security printery for Uneb.
Uneb was unable to secure the land on which the Headquarters could be constructed. Efforts to obtain idle land from the then Uganda Polytechnic Kyambogo (UPK) yielded no fruit as the then UPK Board declined to allocate Uneb land and yet the so-called foreign investors were encroaching on the land as they also forcefully demanded the same from Government.
However, in 1990, I was appointed Chairman, Board of Governors of UPK. DL quickly approached me and I prevailed upon the Board and we immediately allocated the land where Uneb Printery now stands today.
I did not see any reason why the Bank loan should be returned when public land for public good was available. In any case I thought this was the time to pay back to DL for teaching me and managing a thankless institution like Uneb.
Little did I know it would have been my headache to look for land for the Headquarters if the land had not been secured as in 1997, I was appointed by HE, The President of the Republic of Uganda, to be the Chairperson of the Uganda National Examinations Board!
Ongom’s tenure in Uneb was interrupted by the massive leakages of the 1995 PLE Examinations. The Board of Uneb suspended all senior staff including the Secretary, Ongom Ongom.
A three-person interim Committee was put in place to run activities in Uneb. In parallel, the Board in consultation with the Ministry of Education and Sports constituted a Probe Team on Examination Leakages in Uneb to investigate the problems in the administration of examinations in Uneb and propose amelioration measures.
I was appointed the Chairperson. My task was not going to be easy right from the start. I was the youngest member of the Probe Team and yet its head. Ongom was not only my former teacher but he was also my maternal uncle.
So in order to ensure I was not misunderstood, I declared my position but everybody agreed there was no conflict of interest. I also assured Ongom that I would be as objective as possible to ensue Uneb becomes a better organization after the Probe.
In his retirement, Ongom served as the chairman Lira District Service Commission. He was above board; his character was irreproachable. No case of unethical decisions was ever raised during his tenure.
I only wish the District Councils across the country could look for people like Ongom so as to stem the cry of kitu kidogo in the award of contracts and recruitment of public servants.
Among the last public offices that he held, were being a member and later the chairperson of the Board of Governors, UCC Soroti and the chairperson of All Saints University, Lango (ASUL). He was methodical in his approach and had all the corporate governance etiquette that most people just read about. He did not shy away from discussing difficult issues.
Please Uncle DL rest in peace