An 80-year-old woman has enrolled for Primary One at
Jesus is King Nursery and Primary School in Bugandalo Village, Ibulanku
Sub-county in Bugweri District, with an aim of becoming a teacher.
Ms Maria Obonyo, a farmer, on Monday said after enduring
a lot of ‘suffering and ridicule’, she decided to go to school to learn
how to speak and write in English.
“I decided to enrol at the school because I lost all my
relatives and there was nobody to take care of me. I am determined to
study until I graduate from Makerere University as a teacher,” she told
Daily Monitor.
Should Ms Obonyo complete her school cycle, she will be 96 by then.
Ms Obonyo, however, says she currently faces a myriad of
challenges, notably being unable to meet her school fees amounting to
Shs35,000 per term.
“I also need a better structure to sleep in because I am
currently staying with the village LC1 chairman, Mr Twaha Magero,” she
says.
According to Mr Magero, Ms Obonyo’s decision to enrol
for Primary One at such an age is an eye-opener to her agemates and
those who had dropped out of school to resume.
The director of the school, Ms Stella Tayona, says Ms
Obonyo enrolled at her school in Baby Class in 2015 and graduated from
Top Class last year.
“She is a hardworking pupil who never misses classes and
is social to fellow classmates,” Ms Tayona says, adding that the school
currently foots most of her basic scholastic requirements although she
is seeking help from well-wishers.
The school’s head teacher, Ms Olivia Kwagala, says Ms
Obonyo has made the school proud by studying at such an age and is
confident she will complete Primary Seven.
“She is also so eager to learn how to append her signature on a document,” Ms Kwagala adds.
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