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Bishop
Balya College, Fort Portal, Uganda
 Bishop
Balya College is found near the foothills of the Ruwenzori Mountains. It
is located on 5½ acres of gently sloping and well drained land along the
Fort Portal, Bukuku, Kichwamba, and Bundibugyo Road. There is a swamp
below the site, which is the college’s source of water.
Bishop
Balya College is in Bukuuku Sub-county, Kabarole District, Western
Uganda. It is 7 miles (11 km) from the town of Fort Portal, and 320 km
from Kampala, a five-hour drive.
History
Bishop Balya College was founded in 1962 as an initiative of the late
Bishop Aberi Balya, assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Uganda, who was
the first black Anglican Bishop in East and Central Africa. Before he
retired in 1959, he expressed his concern not to leave behind a human
resource gap among church workers due to few trained church workers,
catechists, lay readers, and clergy.
In
1962, the new college was opened under the leadership of the Revd Yokasi
Kinyina. The main mission of the college was to spread the gospel, and
to train human resources for the church.
The
college offered a 2nd letter course until 1964, when it was
upgraded to 3rd letter. In 1977 the college became a
constituent college of the Bishop Tucker Theological College, teaching
the Provincial Certificate until 1999. In 2000, the college was allowed
to teach the Diploma course by the Uganda Christian University (formerly
Bishop Tucker College).
Unfortunately the college was forced to close temporarily at the end of
2001. This was caused by the effects of ADF insurgence in western
Uganda, which had resulted in low income among the people and thus low
income in the church. Few students registered with the college, while
others feared to come to the war zone.
Transformation
The
board of governors has resolved to transform the existing college into a
community college. This will benefit the growing student population –
the young, adults, farmers, the rural community, NGOs, traders, and
professionals. This decision was taken to make the best use of the land
and structures at Bishop Balya College, and to meet the increased demand
for skilled personnel.
Achievements of the college in the last ten years
-
Renovation of college buildings
-
Construction of the principal’s house
-
Construction of peace centre and conference hall
-
Purchase of college pick-up vehicle
-
Introduction of organic farming training programme
-
Installation of gravity water/piped water
-
Establishment and consolidation of links with the Uganda Christian
University in Mukono (UCU)
-
Writing the 5-10 year development plan
-
Installation of electricity at the college
-
Creation of partnership with others schools, institutions, local
governments, religious leaders, NGOs, and development partners.
Constraints
-
Old
structures that need to be replaced by modern buildings
-
Lack
of adequate finance to construct new buildings and structures and
accessories
-
Introduction of courses
-
Lack
of diversification of curriculum to produce students with practical
skills in science and technology to serve God and the church
-
Lack
of properly constructed VIP latrines and water-borne toilets
-
Lack
of buildings / workshops to start training in vocational skills
Opportunities
-
Increased market demand for practical skills
-
Neighbouring primary and secondary schools will be feeders into the
college
-
Large rural community providing a student population
-
Supportive government policy
-
Increasing population that demands effective training and monitoring
Current
state of the college
-
The
college has run a Theological Education by Extension (TEE) programme
since March 2003, with 23 students. Limited funds caused some of the
students to drop out. At present there are seven doing the Diploma
course and eight the Certificate.
-
The
Western Rift Valley Ecological Farm Institute (WREFI), which offers
a certificate and diploma in sustainable agriculture and organic
farming, hires part of the college, Bowman House and the office
block. They maintain the college culture of daily morning and
evening prayers.
-
Conferences and workshops are also hosted at the college depending
on the clients’ needs.
 Buildings
and infrastructure
-
The three-roomed office block, made of semi-permanent
materials, occupies the centre of the compound.
-
The principal’s house is a new building and multipurpose
structure made of permanent materials.
-
The peace centre is a multipurpose conference hall with a
modern kitchen and storeroom. It can accommodate 200 people for
meetings, conferences, and seminars.
-
Bowman’s House has enough space for lecture rooms, dining,
and accommodation. It is built with semi-permanent materials.
-
Rubale’s House has a library, dormitory section, and a
store. It is made of semi-permanent materials.
-
Mukonyezi’s House has a classroom and a dormitory section.
It has a main lounge and a water harvesting tank.
-
The kitchen is a semi-permanent building. Another
semi-permanent kitchen is built behind the peace centre.
-
Latrines: a new 10-stance pit latrine requires installing
VIP pipes and finishing.
-
Library: There is a small library serving the student
population with a maximum capacity of 20 seated people.
-
A eucalyptus tree forest was planted to provide firewood
for the college.
Future plans
-
Resuming full time studies for theology students (ordinands
and clergy) for the Certificate and Diploma.
-
Training of Lay Readers in the two-year pre-ordination
course.
-
Integrating practical skill courses in the curriculum for
church workers.
-
Taking on courses in organic farming and sustainable
agriculture offered by WREFI (Western Rift Valley Ecological Farm
Institute).
-
Introducing new courses offered by Uganda Christian
University (Mukono) such as the Diploma in Education, Social Work
and Social Administration.
-
Introducing information technology courses.
-
Introducing carpentry and joinery, brick laying and
concrete practice, sawing and knitting.
-
Construction of residential and sanitation facilities to
boost the Balya Peace Centre facility for residential seminars and
conferences.
-
Construction of more boarding facilities for residential
students.
 From
the Principal..
I call
upon all God’s people, local and foreign, to offer a supportive hand to
ensure that the college resumes normal fulltime operations to fulfill
the purpose for which it was established – to equip God’s people
holistically for the expansion of God’s kingdom and the establishment of
peaceful, stable, and self-sustaining societies.
Alpha
and Omega.
Kisembo B. Reuben, Principal
November 2005
Contact details
Bishop Balya College, PO Box
368, Fort Portal, Uganda.
E-mail:
bishopbalyacollege@yahoo.co.uk
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