By GERTRUDE MUTYABA

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The head of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, Dr Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu has weighed in on the raging debate about denying pregnant learners access to schools. School opened on Monday after nearly two years of closure over the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement presented to the media on Tuesday in Masaka, the head of the Church Of Uganda (COU) argued that schools are not equipped to take care of health challenges that may emerge in the first three months of the pregnancy. He added that a blanket permission to allow pregnant learners in school flies in the face of a national commitment to ensuring a reduction in maternal mortality.

 The archbishop, whose Church also looks down on premarital sex, questioned the fate of boy fathers who are now being forced to provide for their expectant baby mothers and asked for more realistic options to be explored. He also called on religious leaders to continue their work of upholding morals in the face of the magnitude of the social issues for which they are also victims.
 
 “We are of the view that these issues have to be owned by all stakeholders and should be addressed at all levels,” Archbishop Mugalu says.

The archbishop’s comments follow an initial statement by the Bishop of Mukono Diocese, James Ssebaggala, who called for all pregnant girls to be denied admission to Church founded schools when classes resumed on Monday.
 
 “If a child got pregnant, let them produce first and then be able to go back to school in an acceptable way. They should also be counselled,” Bishop Ssebaggala says.
 
 The statement raised consternation among the public and government officials including the minister of state for Education, John Chrysostom Muyingo, who pledged to talk to the Bishop in a bid to make him change his view
 
 “A child of school-going age should be helped to go to school and complete his or her program. That is the policy and there are reasons the governments came up with it,” Muyingo told journalists.
 
 Whereas the Minister insisted that pregnant female students deserve a chance at an education, the bishop’s sentiments have found favour with several teachers.
 
 “It is difficult to manage a pregnant mother at school. First of all, look at the diet, the time you give them, the way she is treated,” a teacher told NTV Uganda.

“We all know what an expectant mother goes through despite your age. Those learners may face a big challenge mentally, from the environment and their colleagues,” another teacher says.
 
 It remains to be seen how the education ministry will respond. It should be remembered that Islamic founded schools already do not allow pregnant students to stay in class.