52-year-old Sanyu completes primary school education
What you need to know:
- Hopeful. Deogratious Sanyu,52, sat his Primary Leaving Exams at Butunduzi Model Primary School, Kyenjojo District recently and hopes to become a veterinary doctor and Member of Parliament, writes Alex Ashaba.
On Wednesday, March 31, the last day for Primary Seven candidates to complete their Primary Leaving Exams (PLE), at exactly 7.20 am, Deogratious Sanyu,52, stands by himself in front of Room Five at Butunduzi Model Primary School, Kyenjojo District. Sanyu awaiting his classmates to start their exams at 9am.
He was among the 162 students who were sitting their PLE at Butunduzi.
Clad in a blue striped short sleeved shirt, black knee-high shorts, white stockings with blue stripes and black shoes, Sanyu holds a mathematical set.
When we approach him for a chat, he says he had just walked about one kilometre from his home in Rwenyunyuzi Village to the examination centre. He adds that the past two exams were fair and he hopes to pass the forthcoming papers as well.
“I was here by 7.20am and I was the first to arrive . We are going to sit our final papers and I don’t want to miss exams,” he says.
A few minutes later, other candidates trickle in and at exactly 8am, the head teacher Beatrice Kyalimpa, asks the pupils to pick the litter and sweep the compound. Among the first to take part in the exercise is Sanyu. His class mates seem to enjoy working closely with him as they banter. Thereafter, they assemble for briefing.
His classmates, exam scouts and invigilators call him Mayor because he is the chairperson of Butunduzi Town Council in Kyenjojo District.
At 8.50am they line up in front of a classroom for searching before starting their exams, 10 minutes later.
His journey
Born in 1969 in Kamwenge District, Sanyu started school at Busiriba Primary School but stopped in Primary Three because his family relocated to Bunyoro in 1986. There, he resumed studies at Kabamba and Kyani Primary School where he stopped in Primary Six because Bunyoro became unstable.
They again moved to the current Butunduzi Town Council - Kyenjojo District in 1989. But, he says at that time, there were no schools in his locality.
“When we moved to Butunduzi, it was bushy with sparse homesteads and schools. My father advised me to find a marriage partner and I obliged. However, I hoped to return to school in the future,” Sanyu says.
The father of 10, says in 2010 when the government elevated Butunduzi to a town council, he chose to join politics under the NRM party ticket.
“When people told me that for the political position, they did not require any qualification to contest for chairperson of Butunduzi Town Council, I joined the race. I was elected chairman flag bearer and in the general elections but I lost with 23 votes,” he recalls.
In 2016, he again tried his luck under the NRM party and he was elected again as NRM flag bearer for the same area and in the general election he won. However, in this year’s election he lost.
“In the recently concluded elections I was elected NRM flag bearer for Butunduzi Town Council but in the general election, I was defeated by 72 votes. This, I believe is because of some irregularities such as rigging while others said I am illiterate. The latter reason sank in,” he says.
“I served my term and I am now in school, by 2026 I will have completed Senior Four,” he adds.
Back to school
Sanyu says what motivated him to go back to school was that he realised the government wanted all political leaders to have minimum qualifications of O-Level yet he did not have any academic qualifications. Also, some of his friends advised him to get the minimum qualifications.
“I returned to school so that in future, I can realise my dream of becoming a Member of Parliament or veterinary doctor,” he says.
Before the closure of schools due to Covid-19 last year, Sanyu approached the school director of Vision of Hope Primary School for a vacancy to be enrolled in Primary Seven.
The director, Selevio Twesige, says he offered Sanyu a vacancy because he is committed and eager to learn.
“When we met I advised him to go back to school and he obliged but he had wanted to study outside Butunduzi Town Council. I convinced him to stay around. He was enrolled for Primary Seven at our school last year and he has been a good student,” Twesige says.
He was registered to sit for PLE and when schools were closed he did not give up on his dream.
“During the lockdown, I revised my books in my free time alongside my office duties in Butunduzi. My children used to help me and I attended discussions with other candidates in the village,” he relates.
Dreams with challenges
Sanyu dreams of becoming a veterinary doctor or agricultural officer or Member of Parliament.
His endeavours do not come without challenges. His biggest hurdle is lack of tuition because he is a breadwinnner who has to pay tuition for his schoolgoing children.
“I am an adult and after Primary Seven, I would like to join secondary school but I am appealing to the minister of Education and any Good Samaritans to help pay my tuition for my secondary education,” he says.
Meanwhile, Violet Kyarikunda, his wife, says she was happy when her husband returned to school because his dream is to complete university.
She says during Covid-19 lockdown, their young son Ronald Happy, a Senior One student used to coach him day and night.
“Our children have gone to school and my husband is also studying. With my children, we will look for his tuition to ensure he continues and completes his studies,” she says.
Kyarikunda cannot help but marvel at his determination.
“My husband would at times go to school and return home late. On arrival, our son would help him to do night prep until 10pm.”
His class teacher Hassan Trevor Birungi, says in his class, Sanyu was among the best pupils because he had the zeal to revise with others and asked questions during lessons.
“I taught him Mathematics, he performed well, plus he attended class regularly,” Birungi says.
Beatrice Kyalimpa, the head teacher of Butunduzi Model Primary School, says Sanyu as the chairperson of their area always advocates for children to stay in school.
“I was so happy to see that he completed Primary Seven. We registered 167 students before the Covid-19 crisis but five dropped out. Deogratious [Sanyu] is now an example and inspiration to other old people in the community to also study,” Kyalimpa says.
Fellow students
Vincent Black classmate, says Sanyu was disciplined, patient and during class hours he used to consult teachers and fellow pupils.
“We had no problem with Mr Sanyu we used to discuss classwork and do revision. We would help him by explaining to him what he did not understand in class and he will pass,” he says.
Doreen Karungi, another pupil, says he was good at giving them advice as an old person to avoid bad groups and why they should complete school.
Advice
He advises other pupils who complete Primary Seven and lack school fees not to drop out but to consider joining vocational schools for skills.
“If you complete Primary Seven and fail to join secondary school, don’t give up, you can join vocational school and attain skills in order to earn a livelihood,” he says.
He adds that other old people who dropped out of school have a chance to go back and study, saying it is not humiliating for an old person to be in class with children.