AGAINST ALL ODDS: 17-YEAR-OLD PREGNANT PUPIL BEATS STIGMA TO COMPLETE PLE IN ARUA CITY

Candidates present themselves for the mandatory check by examination supervisor before entry to the exams room at Awindiri. Photo//Erema George.

By Erema George

Arua City

A 17-year-old pregnant pupil from Awindiri Primary School in Arua City was among the candidates who successfully completed this year’s Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), as the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) concluded the 2026 academic year papers on November 4th.

Despite seven months pregnancy, the teenager remained determined to finish her education.

Sharing her experience through her best friend, she explained how she managed to persevere and sit for her papers.

“She told me, she did not get any challenges, she just did the examination very well. She also told me that after giving birth to her child, she will join a good secondary school and start studying afresh and says if there will be no school fees for her, she will join a technical school to learn hair dressing.” Her friend explained.

Meanwhile her best friend, who has been by her side throughout the pregnancy, described the journey as a major success, especially given the intense stigma the candidate faced from fellow pupils.

“I just experienced that when the time is now for taking breakfast or lunch, if I tell her lets first go out, she will just refuse and she will just stay inside there until the time of going home. Sometimes I escort her up to their home but sometimes she goes a lone.”

“People can backbite her but she will just say, ‘let them say they are saying but for her she is just waiting for the time of PLE.’ Today I just feel happy because I thought she would not sit for PLE but she just continued coming to school every day, every early in the morning till today.” Her best friend expressed.

While national statistics show that over 60% of Ugandan children drop out before completing Primary Seven, research by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) indicates that girls in West Nile districts—such as Arua, Adjumani, and Yumbe are disproportionately affected.

This is particularly true during the critical primary-to-secondary transition, where early pregnancy and systemic vulnerabilities frequently fuel high school-dropout rates.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the headmistress of Awindiri Primary School urged both parents and school-aged children to cooperate openly with school administrations in similar situations. She revealed that when the teenager first realized she was pregnant, she kept it a secret out of fear of expulsion, which made it difficult for the school to smoothly manage and support her situation early on.

Similar notable cases happened in Rubirizi District where a candidate from Kyambura Primary School sat her papers just hours after giving birth at a local health center, while two teenage mothers from Katebo Primary School successfully completed their examinations at the Labayango primary school sitting center in Lamwo District, including one who was nursing a week-old infant

The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has established a progressive and protective national framework regarding pregnant and breastfeeding learners. Rather than punishing or excluding student mothers, the board explicitly categorizes them under special consideration to guarantee their right to basic education.

The Uganda Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) strongly supports the continuation of education for pregnant learners and adolescent mothers, explicitly prohibiting schools from permanently expelling or denying admission to them. This stance is officially codified under the Revised Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Teenage Pregnancy in School Settings, which establishes a non-punitive re-entry policy to combat high school-dropout rates.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis