By obbo yusuf
Iganga district
After more than 80 weeks of closure, there has been many questions that have loomed over the effect of the shutdown on students and teachers.
While addressing the nation on 31st.12.2021, in his end of year message, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni emphasized that reopening of schools will take effect on 10th.01.2022. In abide to find out how prepared the children and parents to resume with school, our reporter visited various villages in Iganga District Busoga sub region.
At lwerela village in Nawanyingi sub county, Iganga district is where we meet a, 17-year-old Nabirye jesca who said she made up her mind not to step in class again.
“I lost moods of going back to school since I have no one who can take care of my kid, my parents gave up on me and they have got many children too yet the situation at home is at its worse ” said Jesca
In March 2020, all educational facilities in the country were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. In that period, Jesca who was in primary six got pregnant and now has no hope of going back to school but rather work hard to support her little one, Her parents allowed her to stay at parents’ home however she is responsible of meeting her child’s special needs.
In the same home, Jesca’s elder sister Brenda is also going through the same, Brenda has no hope of going back to school after being impregnated in her vacation of s4.
“Life became so hard in the vacation, covid19 became serious ,the country was shutdown I messed up with a guy who had promised to make my life better ,when I got pregnant he ran away from me ,my parents lost hope and started seeing me as wasted Upto now ” said Brenda
Just a few meters from Jesca’s parent place is where we found Kadaya Safina aged 14 also a teenage mother, her story doesn’t differ much from the colleagues.
she says she was tricked by her boyfriend who used to support her with 1000/- Uganda shilling for lunch and in return she was forced sex when she had gone to fetch firewood.
Safina’s love to go back to school is high but has to support her kid. Safina who stays with her grandparents feels like she has over Burdened her since her boyfriend ran away after impregnating her and the grandfather had to sell his plot of land to save safina from the high medical bills when she failed to deliver well and bleed alot almost loosing her life.
Kadaya’s life is now under the support of Hope for change.
Jesca,brenda and safina’s story is not an isolated case. The more than 80-week school shut down – the world’s longest – has done “more harm than good” those who were young now sees themselves as grown up
Birungi Ruth says she is not willing to go back to school since body shape has grown thus uncomfortable to sit in class again.
” my body shape is no longer making me comfortable to sit in in class ,am now big ,my breasts have increased in size ,fellow students will relate to me as Jaja I feel am bigger than them now I want to join business but class am not willing “
Speaking to Nakagolo Mwajuma one of the VHT and local leader at lwerela village said the long holiday brought up by covid19 has been catalyzed by indiscipline or poor parenting which has contributed a lot to early pregnancy in her village
Kiiza Abdul wahab, the assistant probation officer in Iganga has warned parents who are opting to take their children for abortion saying this shall expose them to more risk . kizza has appealed to parents more especially to those with these teenage mothers to assist them in taking care of the kid to enable these children go back to classes.
“parents and school heads this is the time we need you more to help the nation by sweet talking these young girls ,bring back their lost hope, producing has never been a crime and it’s not the end of their life, our office is also coming with other help full of psychosocial support ” said Wahab
The need to prepare them go back to school has attracted concerns of many however some of the parents we have interacted with are desperate ,single mothers , polygamous families where most of these children come from are challenged financially thus accommodate the overwhelming numbers .
Some of the parents revealed to us the reason as to why they lost hope of taking their children back to school.
Nabirye Hajira a mother of 12 children in Lwerera village Iganga feels so disappointed after two of her children getting and producing before reaching their set targets (Jesca and Brenda) Nabirye says “Brenda disappointed us as family since she is the elder child almost her fellows may end just like her we thought when she is done with S4 she will cross to vocational studies and help us support her fellow sisters I feel so disappointed by that girl” Says Nabirye Hajira mother to Jesca and Brenda while crying .
According to the Resident district commissioner for Iganga Debora Mwesigwa over 6300 young girls have gotten pregnant in this school lockdown.
Deborah while addressing Journalists appealed to all stake holders to see that these children are helped and keep in school just in this remaining short time and also take use of UPE and USE government free schools .
RDC adds that the government has allowed even those pregnant to sit in class “parents must help us remain with the kids and allow these young girls return to school we shall not have space in schools to host babies,if those whose pregnancy has not yet exposed can go to school until when they feel like ready to deliver may be at month 7 is when they can stop going to school ” said iganga Rdc Debora Mwesigwa
But even the boys are not spared either by the effect of the schools’ shutdown, with many entering the child labor market to take on tasks such as street vending and sugar cane cutting.
While some would like to return to classes, others are getting comfortable with the idea of earning an income, no matter how small but RDC has promised a forceful hunt /operation of these teens just after 10th.jan.2022 to let them be in school.
According to the National Planning Authority (NPA), estimates that 30 percent of students will not return to school in January due to teenage pregnancy, early marriage and child labor.
Between March 2020 and June this year, the country reported a 22.5 percent jump in pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 24, according to data from UNICEF show
several teenage mothers and pregnant girls in Iganga become hopeless over sitting back to class most of them think they are mentally retarded and responsibility has grown and no one to help them raise their children. Stake holders in Iganga have warned parents over not tempting abortion in fight to take their children back to class.
Iganga district registered 6300 teenage pregnancy cases in lockdown.
