At 75, Mr Deogratious Mukasa Tinako Ssalongo does not count his years by birthdays or retirement dates, but by former students who stop him in the street to say thank you. Long after the school bell should have gone silent for him, Tinako still walks into classrooms with purpose believing that as long as students keep succeeding, his work is not yet done. ‘I am motivated by the success of my students,’ Mr Tinako says softly, his eyes lighting up. ‘When you teach students, they pass and are successful. You get motivated and feel like continuing with the profession.’
We meet him at Nyamitanga College of Business Studies in Mbarara, where he serves as the academic registrar and also teaches economics, human resource management and customer care. Impeccably dressed in a suit, tie and his trademark cowboy hat, Mr Tinako cuts the image of a much younger man.
It is only upon closer look that you realise you are standing before a living archive of Uganda’s education history.
Passion for teaching
Born on October 22, 1950, in Kagarama village, Kabingo Sub-county in Isingiro District, Mr Tinako’s journey into teaching began long before he stepped into a classroom. His father was a teacher, and as a child, he admired the profession from a distance – an admiration that slowly grew into purpose. ‘It is not by accident that I became a teacher,’ he says. ‘Even though my father was one and I used to admire teachers,. So, teaching has remained my passion to date.’ His formal teaching career began in 1977 at Namasagali College, where he taught until 1980. Those years, he recalls, were deeply fulfilling.
‘I felt happy when I started teaching because it was what I had longed to do for a long time. I enjoyed good relationships with students and their parents,’ Mr Tinako explains. Among his former students are some of Uganda’s most recognisable public figures, including former Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga. He speaks of their achievements with quiet pride, not self-praise. ‘I think I made a big contribution in the lives of many Ugandans because most of my former students are in key positions of leadership and civil service,’ he says.
Brief detour
Mr Tinako’s path, however, was not without detours. In 1980, he ventured into politics, contesting for the Isingiro North parliamentary seat on the Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM) ticket. He lost. The political climate that followed pushed him back to the classroom. This time at St Joseph’s Vocational School in Mbarara.
‘The atmosphere was not conducive,’ he recalls. ‘So I went back to teaching.’ When relative stability returned between 1981 and 1983, he rejoined Namasagali College, teaching until mid-1986. Later, he served on the Greater Mbarara District Service Commission, and in the same year became the founding principal of Nyamitanga Secretarial College.
His career would go on to blend education, public service and administration, including roles as a district council executive committee member and principal personnel officer for Greater Mbarara, before his official retirement in 2010. Yet retirement never truly arrived. Instead, Mr Tinako returned , again to Nyamitanga, where he continues to serve and teach. A firm believer in discipline, Mr Tinako says order and guidance were central to his approach. ‘No wonder at Namasagali and St Joseph’s I was in charge of students’ discipline,’ he says. ‘I interacted closely with students, counselled them, told them of the sacrifices their parents were making to see them attain education and become valuable citizens.’
At Namasagali, discipline took an innovative form: a student-run court system. ‘We had a court system like the normal courts today, led by a chief justice,’ he recalls. ‘It was handled by students who would discipline fellow students.’ He smiles as he adds, ‘No wonder Ms Rebecca Kadaga became Speaker of Parliament because she was once the chief justice of the school court at Namasagali.’
Asked whether he has faced challenges in his long teaching journey, Mr Tinako pauses before responding. ‘I have not had any regrets in teaching. I have enjoyed my work life and making a positive contribution to people, that is what keeps me moving.’Though he acknowledges that time will eventually force him to step away, he speaks of retirement with acceptance, not sadness. ‘One time I will retire,’ he says. ‘Time must come, especially as one grows very old.’
His two cents
His advice to younger teachers is firm and heartfelt: teaching must be more than employment. ‘Teachers should not join the profession just as a job,’ he advises. ‘They must be committed and do it as a passion.’ He also calls on government to address salary disparities between science teachers and those in the humanities.
‘All these teachers went to the same schools.
They all teach under similar situations and are all important for this country,’ he says. ‘We need lawyers and judges. The government cannot do without professionals in humanities. This issue should be addressed very first.’ To parents and the wider public, Mr Tinako makes a strong case for vocational education. ‘There is still a negative attitude towards vocational education, but we need to change with time,’ he says. ‘We need to embrace skills development subjects like building and construction, catering to earn a living because there are no jobs.’
His education journey at a glance
Mr Tinako’s own education journey mirrors his belief in discipline and excellence. He attended Kigarama Church School and Kashaye Primary Schoo. He hen joined St Paul’s Seminary Rushoroza in Kabale, before St Edward’s Bukumi, in Mubende then Ntare School in Mbarara District. Tinako later Makerere University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts with a concurrent diploma in education. He has also served on boards and management committees of several schools, including Ntare School and Immaculate Heart Girls’ School, Nyakibale in Rukungiri.