Why LC3 chairman returned to school
Jimmy Awany Cingmalo enjoys a meal during the UACE exams at Lira Town College in November. PHOTO/PATRICK EBONG
What you need to know:
- Mr Jimmy Awany, who did his final exams from Lira Town College, offered HED/ICT
- In 2019, Mr Awany sat for Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) and obtained Aggregate 49
The former chairperson of Adyel Division in the present Lira City, Mr Jimmy Awany Cingmalo, scored 11 points in the recently released Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) results.
Mr Awany, who did his final exams from Lira Town College, offered HED/ICT.
He said he returned to school because as a Senior Three dropout, it was very challenging for him to supervise a town clerk who had a master’s degree.
“In fact, most politicians who are holding positions of authority at the sub-county level find it very challenging to supervise civil servants. This is because most of them have low academic background since there is no academic requirement for one to contest for those positions,” Mr Awany told Daily Monitor in an interview on Monday.
He added that he could not even interpret the budget document.
Mr Awany, 42, served for five years as the speaker of Adyel Division Council and 10 years as the area chairperson until 2021 when Lira was elevated to city status.
He explained why he did not pursue education at a young age. “I came from a very poor family. I lost all my parents at the age of 13 and I couldn’t continue with my education because no one was there to support me,” Mr Awany said.
In 2018, he went back to school and joined Rachele Senior Secondary School, Lira City, in Senior Three.
In 2019, Mr Awany sat for Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) and obtained Aggregate 49.
However, he noted that balancing family life and school is tricky.
“My experience on the first day in school was also a terrible one because most of the students thought I was a new teacher and they could even joke, ‘ha, they have brought for us a very tall teacher, a brown one and he looks very nice’” Mr Awany recalled.
The head teacher of Lira Town College, Ms Sophie Rose Acen, said Mr Awany was a bright, social and smart student.
