Kibibi nursing mother must sit exams

Nov 03, 2008

THE headmaster of Kibibi Secondary School has stopped a Senior Six student from sitting her final examinations because she got pregnant while in school. The rationale for the decision is that the school follows Islamic principles and is strict on discipline.

THE headmaster of Kibibi Secondary School has stopped a Senior Six student from sitting her final examinations because she got pregnant while in school. Fatuma Nansamba delivered in August after Hajji Mubiru had dismissed her from the school in July.

The rationale for Mubiru’s decision is that the school follows Islamic principles and is strict on discipline.

The fate of Nansamba must not be left in the hands of the sanctimonious headmaster. Mubiru considers getting pregnant in school as a disciplinary matter.

Maybe it is, but has Nansamba not already been punished by being expelled? If the man who impregnated her was a student at Kibibi, would he have suffered the same fate?

To follow up the girl and prevent her from doing her examinations which she properly registered for is taking ‘discipline’ too far and appears more like witchhunting.

Nansamba is no longer pregnant and if her presence at the school is a revulsion to Kibibi’s Islamic sensibilities, there should be a middle course.

She can do the examinations in a different place or room. Is the headmaster’s decision legal or does he have the authority to prevent the girl from sitting her examinations?

The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) says she should be allowed to sit her examinations as long as she duly registered, which she did. Moreover, the district education officer of Apac has instructed the head teachers of Ayomjeri and Ayat primary schools to allow pregnant girls to sit their Primary Leaving Examinations. What makes Nansamba different?

Clearly, the decision to bar Nansamba from sitting her examinations is not a prerogative of the school and the headmaster can successfully be challenged in court.

Morally, it is unfortunate that an already disadvantaged individual should have her hopes of a better future quashed by an insensitive system. Nansamba needs understanding and compassion, not more punishment. Women activists, FIDA and UWONET must stand up to be counted. Nansamba’s future should not be ruined.

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