Africa-Press – Uganda. Claire Karungi’s hope of completing O-Level keeps fading away because she lacks school fees.
Karungi is a senior four candidate at God Cares High School Bulenga in Wakiso District.
She told this publication last Thursday that her mother, Ms Resty Nantaba, who worked as a casual labourer to raise her school fees, has since suffered from diabetes, which has stopped her from working.
Karungi’s dream of becoming a water engineer will be shattered if she doesn’t sit for her Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams that are due on October 13.
While narrating her plight, she said her mother has been the sole breadwinner for the family.
“I have never seen my father, my mother tells me that he left us when I was still a child after giving me a name,” she said.
“As a teen, I am anxious about my future, if I don’t sit for my final exams, my future is uncertain,” she added.
Although her classmates reported to school last week, she is still stuck at home because they cannot raise Shs900,000 for fees and other school requirements.
Kalungi said because her mother was unable to raise school fees for the three siblings, her brother dropped out of school in Primary Seven last year.
Big dreams
As tears rolled down her cheeks, she wondered what awaited her, saying she has big dreams that will change her family and society if they come true.
To support her sick mother, Karungi and her siblings wash people’s clothes, but the money is not enough to pay rent, feed them, and pay school fees.
She narrated that their landlord has since told them to vacate his house because of three months’ rent arrears.
“We wanted to go back to the village, but my mother told us that their land was grabbed,” she said.
Karungi called upon well-wishers to help her raise her school fees.
At the beginning of this month, the Uganda National Examination Board (Uneb) released the 2023 examination timetable.
This year’s Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams start with a customary briefing for the Senior Four candidates on October 13 and students will sit for the Geography as the first exam on October 16.
According to Uneb a total of 1,224,371 candidates registered for the UCE, Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education, and Primary Leaving Exams from 20,921 centres.
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