Mother of four excels in S4 exams

A 30-year-old mother of four from Sironko District defied her age and expectations to score  Aggregate 17 in the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) released last week.

Ms Sarah Nafuna, a resident of Mutufu Town Council, sat for her UCE examination at Sironko Parents Secondary School, and emerged as the best performer there.

She scored Credit 4 in English, Distinction 1 in Christian Religious Education, Distinction 2 in History, Credit 6 in Geography, Distinction 2 in Mathematics, Credit 3 in Agriculture, Credit 4 in Physics, Distinction 1 in Chemistry, Credit 3 in Biology and Distinction 1 in Commerce.

During an interview with Monitor, Ms Nafuna expressed joy that she performed well amidst several challenges.

 “I sat my Senior Four having dropped out of school in 2010,” she said.
Ms Nafuna, a businesswoman dealing in agricultural inputs in Mbale City, was one of the 47 students who sat for UCE at the school that registered 12 candidates in Division One and 22 in Division Two, and 13 in Division Three.

She dropped out of school in 2010 after she got pregnant while in Senior One at Budadiri Girls located in Budadiri Town Council in Sironko district.

“That is how my dream of education was shattered then but later in the years after getting married, I decided to go back to chase my dream and now, I can say I am on track to become an agriculturist, my childhood dream,” she said.

She wants to pursue Biology, Chemistry, and Agriculture (BCA) as her combination in A- level to be in a position to do an agricultural course at university.

Ms Nafuna says parents should give a chance to teenagers who get pregnant while at school to continue with studies instead of being ridiculed or forced to get married.

Mr Yofesi  Malenga, the registrar at Sironko Parents Secondary School, said Nafuna exceeded their expectations.

“She is disciplined and has been performing well. We did not know she would manage being a mother, a married and businesswoman,”  he said.