UPE product gets first class degree
Happy. Mark Lutoto with his father Martin Amo Shak at the graduation ceremony yesterday. PHOTO BY DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Lutoto said he plans to go back and inspire pupils in UPE schools. “I plan to teach those UPE pupils in the hard-to-reach areas where most teachers do not want to go. I want to inspire them and change their perception that UPE pupils are failures,” Lutoto said yesterday.
A product of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) system has graduated at Makerere University with a first class degree.
Mark Lutoto Amo, who attended Nansana Church of Uganda Primary School in Wakiso District and later joined a private secondary school, graduated with Bachelor’s degree in Education.
Lutoto’s father, Mr Martin Amo Shak, said his son wanted to repeat Primary Seven in a private school because he had not excelled in the Primary Leaving Examinations in a UPE school.
Mr Shak said he later encouraged Mr Lutoto to join a private secondary school.
“My son, who had a bad perception about UPE schools, later joined a private school and his performance improved to first grade. He attained 28 aggregates from Buddo Secondary School in 2014, and was able to join another private school in Tororo were he got 20 points in Senior Six in 2016,” he said in an interview on Monday.
Lutoto later joined Makerere University on government sponsorship and is among the 400 graduands with first class degrees.
“It is not true that pupils who go to UPE schools cannot excel in the future. The only thing killing UPE schools is teacher absenteeism but if a teacher can cover the whole syllabus, those pupils will always excel in the future,” Mr Shak said.
Lutoto said he plans to go back and inspire pupils in UPE schools. “I plan to teach those UPE pupils in the hard-to-reach areas where most teachers do not want to go. I want to inspire them and change their perception that UPE pupils are failures,” Lutoto said yesterday.
