Two pregnant girls among 1,028 Soroti SS candidates
“We had three girls who were pregnant, but one gave birth two weeks ago, leaving two who are still heavily pregnant. As a school, we are prepared to respond in case any of them go into labour, but for now, they are all comfortable,” said Charles Peter Opolot, the school’s director of studies.
Students of Soroti Senior Secondary School writing their Mathematics examinations on Monday. (Credit: Godfrey Ojore)
SOROTI - Two pregnant girls are among the 1,028 candidates at Soroti Senior Secondary School who began sitting their Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations today (October 12).
Another candidate, who gave birth two weeks ago, also returned to sit the exams, with her mother taking care of the baby as she concentrates on her papers.
“We had three girls who were pregnant, but one gave birth two weeks ago, leaving two who are still heavily pregnant. As a school, we are prepared to respond in case any of them go into labour, but for now, they are all comfortable,” said Charles Peter Opolot, the school’s director of studies.
In a related development, two male candidates narrowly missed the examinations after they were arrested over alleged offences committed outside the school.
An invigilator checking the girls of Soroti SS before they were allowed into the examination room. (Credit: Godfrey Ojore)
However, the two were released and reported to school early on Monday morning to sit their examinations
“They only missed the briefing, but luckily, they were released, and they reported early this morning to sit their examinations,” Opolot said.
An invigilator checking the boys of Soroti SS before they were allowed into the examination room. (Credit: Godfrey Ojore)
Soroti Senior Secondary School is a day school with one of the largest student populations in the Teso sub-region. According to Opolot, the school has more than 5,000 learners.
Despite the challenges, Opolot expressed optimism that the school would perform better than it did last year, attributing his confidence to teachers’ efforts to equip candidates with the knowledge and skills required to excel.
Nationally, 503,214 candidates registered for the UCE examinations, which commenced today (October 12) with Mathematics and Chemistry theory papers.