Vienna College Namugongo has honoured the legacy of its late director Chris Kassami by introducing an annual award for the school’s best-performing Economics student.
The award was presented on Tuesday during the release of this year’s Cambridge examination results, with Heath Mulondo Walugembe emerging as the first recipient after scoring 91 per cent in Economics.
Walugembe beat three other students who scored 90 per cent each, including Kigundu Abdulrahman, Twesige Melody Kukundakwe and Amia Rihanna Adubangu.
The award is in memory of Kassami, a renowned economist and one of the directors of Vienna College Namugongo who died in 2016.
Before his death, Kassami had pledged to recognise the school’s best Economics student every year with an award and a cash prize of Shs1 million.
In a video played during Tuesday’s ceremony, Kassami recalled his passion for Economics and said he wanted to encourage students to take the subject seriously.
He said he would be “a little bit selfish as an Economist” by recognising the student who achieved the highest mark in Economics with an accolade and Shs1 million in cash.
The school has now revived that commitment through the Chris Kassami Memorial Economics Award.
Speaking at the ceremony, Jassi Kassami, Chris Kassami’s son and a director at Vienna College since his father’s death, said the initiative was a fitting way to preserve his father’s legacy.
He said his father, who was an economist, strongly believed in promoting Economics and wanted more students to embrace the subject.
“We thank the administration of Vienna College, under the leadership of Principal Muhammed Kakiika, for the thought. Besides just Economics, we hope to award students in other subjects as well,” Jassi said.
Principal Muhammed Kakiika confirmed that the Chris Kassami Memorial Economics Award will be presented every year to the student who achieves the highest mark in Economics.
The winner will receive both an accolade and Shs1 million in cash.
Kakiika also commended the school’s teachers for their work in preparing students for the Cambridge examinations, saying the strong performance extended beyond Economics.
He noted that students also performed well in the science subjects, attributing the results to the commitment of teachers and students throughout the academic year.
The school said the annual award will continue to recognise academic excellence in Economics while keeping alive Kassami’s commitment to promoting the subject among students.
