Government under fire over ‘standardised’ exam results

“Infact, politicians are not education experts, so the National Examinations Council of Tanzania should be left untouched to perform its duties” EZEKIEL OLUOCH, TANZANIA TEACHERS UNION SECRETARY-GENERAL 

By The Citizen Reporters 

In Summary

• He added that reactive measures taken by the government in standardising the results were not expected to bring any miracles, mantaining that the problem would remain unsolved unless the education system is completely overhauled.

Dar es Salaam. The new Form Four examination results released in Dar es Salaam yesterday have drawn mixed reactions from education stakeholders, with some terming the move by the government to nullify the previous results as “a whitewash”.

Interviewed by The Citizen, they said that the new results would not help students who were desperately affected after the announcement of the earlier results.

Senior lecturer with the University of Dar es Salaam, Dr Kitila Mkumbo, said that Tanzania should expect massive failures in the future because the government had not solved the issue properly.

He added that reactive measures taken by the government in standardising the results were not expected to bring any miracles, mantaining that the problem would remain unsolved unless the education system is completely overhauled.

Dr Mkumbo said public schools in the country lacked learning facilities, stressing that schools need adequate teachers, learning facilities, and high teachers’ morale. 

For his part, the headmaster of Loyola High School in Dar es Salaam, Fr Binamunga Makosa, said that there were no significant changes in the new results.

He added that the number of students who scored Division Zero was still big and that the nation’s education sector was still at a crossroads.

The secretary general of the Tanzania Teachers Union (TTU), Mr Ezekiah Oluoch, said that the earlier results were real on what candidates had scored, while those which were announced yesterday’s were politically driven.

“Infact, politicians are not education experts, so the National Examinations Council of Tanzania should be left untouched to perform its duties,” he said.

He said standardisation neither helped the students nor the country’s education sector. As a result, according to him, the country will continue producing a generation of students thinking from an agora of abject illiteracy.

“Standardisation doesn’t help...it generates poorly uneducated Tanzanians. This shows that the education sector has political influence because the results show that children learn nothing while at school, but politicians want to change the truth,” he claimed.

He added that even the increase in performance had changed nothing because half of the candidates had failed.

 Masozi Nyirenda, senior fund allocation officer at the Tanzania Education Authority (TEA) said that there was laxity in the government and that the new results would not add any value.

“The government painted a weird image by failing to solve the results’ malpractices internally. What we see now is politics and it is hard to believe if the results were not doctored to meet people’s expectations,’’ he said.

Reported by Katare Mbashiru, Elisha Magolanga and Fariji Msonsa

Failure rate down 10pc in new Form 4 results

Education and Vocation Training, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa 

 

In Summary

The number of students who scored division two is now 10,355 students as opposed to the earlier 6,453. The number of students who scored division two is now up by 1.22 per cent.

Dar es Salaam. The new 2011/12 Form 4 national examination results announced yesterday are better than those that were cancelled by about nine per cent. The previous ones, announced on February 18, were nullified following mass failure at over 60 per cent. 

The Minister forEducation and Vocation Training, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa, said yesterday that, after standardisation, the new results indicate that the number of students who scored division zero has dropped slightly.

In the new scheme of things, the number of students who scored between division one and four rose to 159,747--up from the earlier 126,847. This means the pass rate has now risen by 9.3 per cent.

Speaking at the ministry’s headquarters, Dr Kawambwa said the new results were compiled using the same method applied in the annulled results. “In both results, we used a system known as fixed grade ranges,” Dr Kawambwa said, “but in the new results I am about to announce. some standardisation was done.”

Going by the new results, 35,349 students scored between division one and division three--which is equivalent to 9.55 per cent. This means that the percentage of those who scored division one to three has risen by 3.63 per cent. The number of those who scored division one has risen to 3.242 students compared to 1,641 who scored the same division earlier. This is equivalent to 0.48 per cent of students who scored division one in the February results.

The number of students who scored division two is now 10,355 students as opposed to the earlier 6,453. The number of students who scored division two is now up by 1.22 per cent. Those who scored division three number 21,752 compared to 15,426 previously--and that grading level has gone up by 2.01 percent. Division Four holders stand at 124,260, up from 103,327--a rise of 18.07 percent. Conversely, the number of students who scored division zero dropped to 210,846 against 240,903 students earlier.

The difference between the number of students who scored division zero in the new results compared to the previous results is equivalent to 3.78 per cent of students who sat the exams.

The results released in February were cancelled in March after a public uproar over the 60 percent failure rate. The National Examinations Council of Tanzania (Necta) used a new examination grading system called Fixed Grades Ranges in the ill-fated exams, according to Dr Kawambwa, giving the impression that many students had failed.

In previous years, the system used was the Flexible Grade Ranges. “In yesterday’s results, the same Fixed Grade Ranges was used but Necta standardised the results,” Dr Kawambwa added.

In addition to cancelling the results, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda formed a team to probe the reasons for the failure. The final report has yet to be released.

Dr Kawambwa said the panel appointed to standardise the results did its best and favoured no one. “We are after quality education and not favouritism,” he added. “Necta has never and will never favour any individual.”

According to Dr Charles Msonde of Necta, no students who sat the examination had their grades pulled down. After reviewing the previous results, he added, almost all who deserved it had their marks raised according to the recommendations of the review panel.


 Responding to questions from reporters, Dr Kawambwa assured the nation that the students will proceed to the next level according to plan. “Everything is under control,” he said. “There is no need to worry because the selection will be announced as soon as possible and the students will join their higher level studies in July.”

Wenye divisheni ziro 30,000 wapeta

 

Na Fredy Azzah, Boniface Meena 

Kwa ufupi

• Ufaulu huo umewasaidia wanafunzi waliokuwa wamefeli kwa kupata daraja sifuri na kufanikiwa kupata daraja la nne.

Dar es Salaam. Wanafunzi 30,063 waliopata daraja sifuri katika matokeo yaliyopita, wameula baada ya kupandishwa hadi daraja la nne kutokana na ukokotoaji upya wa matokeo ya mtihani wa kidato cha nne yaliyofanywa na Baraza la Mitihani la Taifa (Nacte) na kutangazwa jana.

Marekebisho hayo yalifanyika baada ya kufutwa kwa matokeo ya awali yaliyotangazwa Februari 18, mwaka huu.

Kufutwa kwa matokeo hayo, ilikuwa ni utekelezaji wa sehemu ya mapendekezo ya Tume iliyoundwa na Waziri Mkuu Mizengo Pinda, baada ya wanafunzi 240,909 kupata daraja sifuri kwenye matokeo yaliyotangazwa mara ya kwanza.

Akitangaza matokeo hayo jana, Waziri wa Elimu na Mafunzo ya Ufundi, Dk Shukuru Kawambwa alisema sasa watakaokuwa na sifuri ni 210,846 sawa na asilimia 56.92 wakati wavulana wakiwa ni 104,259 na wasichana 106,587.

Hiyo ina maana kuwa sasa ufaulu umepanda na kuwa asilimia 43.08 badala ya ule wa kwanza ambao ulikuwa asilimia 34.5.

Dk Kawambwa alisema kutokana na ukokotoaji mpya wa matokeo ya sasa, idadi ya wanafunzi waliofaulu mtihani huo kwa daraja la kwanza mpaka la nne imeongezeka na kufikia wanafunzi 159,747 kutoka 126,847.

Wanafunzi waliopata daraja la kwanza ni 3,242 wavulana wakiwa ni 2,179 na wasichana 1,063 ikiwa ni asilimia 0.88 ya matokeo yote, daraja la pili ni 10,355 sawa na asilimia 2.8 wavulana wakiwa 7,267 na wasichana 3,088.

Waliopata daraja la tatu ni 21,752 sawa na asilimia 5.87 wavulana wakiwa 14,979 na wasichana 6,773, daraja la nne ni 124,260 sawa na asilimia 33.54 .

Tofauti na matokeo yaliyofutwa, ambayo watahiniwa waliopata daraja la kwanza walikuwa ni 1,641, wavulana wakiwa 1,073 na wasichana 568, daraja la pili ni 6,453, wavulana wakiwa 4,456 na wasichana 1997.

Waliopata daraja la tatu walikuwa 15,426, wavulana 10,813 na wasichana 4,613, waliopata daraja la nne 103,327, wavulana 64,344 na wasichana 38,983 huku waliopata sifuri wakiwa 240,903, wavulana 120,664 na wasichana 120,239.

Dk Kawambwa alieleza watahiniwa waliosajiliwa kufanya mtihani huo walikuwa ni 480,029 na waliofanya ni 458,139 sawa na asilimia 95.44.

Alisema kuwa watahiniwa wa shule waliosajiliwa kufanya mtihani huo walikuwa ni 411,225 na waliofanya ni 397,138 sawa na asilimia 96.57 huku wa kujitegemea wakiwa ni 68,804 na waliofanya ni 61,001.

Agizo la serikali

Dk Kawambwa alisema kuwa matokeo hayo yamefanyiwa kazi kwa kutumia mfumo wa `Fixed Grade Ranges’(ukokotoaji matokeo usiobadilika) badala ya ule wa zamani wa `Flexible Grade Ranges’ (ukokotoaji matokeo unaoweza kubadilika).

Mei 3, mwaka huu, Serikali kupitia kwa Waziri wa Nchi, Ofisi ya Waziri Mkuu, Sera, Uratibu na Bunge, William Lukuvi, alitangaza uamuzi wa Serikali wa kufuta matokeo hayo na kusema kuwa yatatayarishwa kwa mfumo wa zamani wa `Flexible Grade Ranges’.

Lukuvi alisema kuwa, mapendekezo hayo yalitolewa na Tume iliyoundwa na Waziri Mkuu kuchunguza na matokeo hayo na mapendekezo hayo yaliridhiwa na Baraza la Mawaziri.

Dk Kawambwa jana alisema kuwa, mfumo wa Fixed Grade Ranges ndiyo uliotumika na kuwa kuanzia sasa mitihani yote itakuwa ikitumia mfumo huo.

Alisema kuwa pendekezo la Serikali lilishindikana kutumika kwani isingewezekana kuchanganya mifumo miwili kwa wakati mmoja.

“Ni kweli kuwa Serikali iliagiza matokeo haya yachakatwe kwa mfumo wa 2011 ambao ulikuwa ni `Flexible Grade Ranges’, kitaalamu siyo sahihi kutumia mifumo miwili kwa wakati mmoja, kwa kuwa haya matokeo ya 2012 yalitumia mfumo wa `Fixed Grade Ranges’, isingewezekana kuubadili.

“Kwa hiyo tulishauriana serikalini tukakubali kufanya `standardisation’ (ukokotoaji) kwa mfumo wa `Fixed Grade Ranges’ kwani kama tungetumia mfumo wa zamani wa `Flexible Grade Ranges’ lazima yangetokea matatizo,” alisema.

Shule bora na za mwisho

Katika shule kumi bora, Shule ya Wasichana ya Sekondari ya Kifungilo iliyoko Tanga imetolewa katika kundi hilo kwenye matokeo mapya na nafasi yake kuchukuliwa na Shule ya Wasichana ya Feza ya Dar es Salaam.

Baada ya ukokotoaji mpya bado St.Francis Girls ya Mbeya imebeki kwenye nafasi ya kwanza ikifuatiwa Marian Boys ya Pwani, Feza Boys ya Dar es Salaam, Marian Girls ya Pwani, Canossa ya Dar es Salaam, Rosmini ya Tanga, Anwarite Girls ya Kilimanjaro, St. Mary’s Mazinde Juu ya Tanga na Jude Moshono ya Arusha.

Shule za Ungulu Morogoro, Mkumba na Tongoni za Tanga na Ndame ya Unguja zimetoka katika kundi hilo la shule za mwisho

Shule za mwisho katika matokeo haya zimeongozwa na Mibuyuni ya Lindi, Namndimkongo ya Pwani, Chitekete ya Mtwara, Kikale ya Pwani, Zirai ya Tanga, Matanda ya Lindi, Kwamndolwa Tanga, Chuno ya Mtwara, Maendeleo ya Pwani na Maendeleo ya Dar es Salaam.

We will remain fair and accurate

Monitor Publications Ltd friends and employees led by Dembe FM’s Robinah Mbabazi, also known as Bina Baby (L), celebrate after the police vacated the company’s head offices in Namuwongo, a Kampala suburb, yesterday. photo by faiswal kasirye. 

In Summary

We will avoid presenting acts of violence, armed robberies, banditry and terrorist activities in a manner that glorifies such anti-social conduct.

We are delighted to be back. This has been a difficult eleven days, for staff, for their families and for the thousands of people throughout Uganda, distributors, vendors and many others, who depend on the Daily and Weekend Monitor, KFM and Dembe FM for their livelihoods.

The reopening of Monitor Publications was negotiated with the government, and in the end resulted from a meeting of minds on the place of journalism in a fledgling democracy. That role is elaborately defined in our Editorial Policy Guidelines and Objectives, which set standards that are as rigorous and comprehensive as you will find in the world’s most developed media markets.

Some of our friends and readers in Uganda and abroad might see our return today as a victory over the government. And indeed some, might think the government backed down as some officials had spoken of closing the paper “indefinitely”.

That would be wrong. This is a victory for common sense. There is a long way to go, and much work to be done, but the manner of our closure, and re-opening, shows both the risks that remain, and the progress that is being made.

A free press is essential if a country hopes to grow peacefully.It is not a luxury. It holds the powerful and wealthy to account. It investigates. It defends the weak, but it also allows the government to mobilise the population for good causes.

It is contentious that our reporters were taken to court after we published a report about a letter written by General David Sejusa, also known as Tinyefuza, the Coordinator of Intelligence Services, where the general made a number of serious allegations about plots within government and the military. We did not endorse, or in any way support him; we simply reported what he, a senior military figure, had said.

We believe we were right to do so, but the government disagreed. But at least it took a step forward because it used the courts. Even when police took over our office, and shut us down, they did so after they had sought a search warrant. The detectives charged with locating the general’s letter were polite. They did not destroy equipment.

There are important and complex issues at stake. What is the role of the media in a developing country? A newspaper in a country in transition, emerging from a violent past, is different from a newspaper in London or New York. We want to be successful but we are not here to sell newspapers at any cost. We must campaign for better schools, healthcare, transport and much else. We must fight corruption, the curse of many developing countries. We must also always remember that this is a young and fragile democracy. Every day we must calculate the impact of what we write, in ways that our colleagues in other, richer parts of the world do not have to do. It is a heavy responsibility.

Much has been said over the past days about mounting threats to the media in Uganda. The statistics, such as attacks on journalists, do not lie yet are only one element of a complicated equation.

In the age of 24 hour, seven day-a-week information, of satellite television, the Internet and social media closing a newspaper does not prevent the transmission of news. It is rare for Uganda to make headlines around the world. Usually the country is only mentioned in stories about gorillas, child sacrifice and disease. The closure of the Monitor, our radio stations and Red Pepper, the boisterous tabloid, has been reported around the world. It is the credit of everyone, even our critics in government, that it has been settled by negotiation, not violence.

We remain committed to fair, balanced journalism. We will make mistakes, because we are human. But we will always try to learn from them and to be better next day.

Among key principles from our Editorial Policy & Guidelines that govern us, some are worth repeating here.
• Freedoms of speech and of the press are basic elements of any democracy or an emerging democracy.
• As a social institution, the press discharges crucial duties by carrying information, debates, analytical and critical comments on society.
• The press protects the freedom of speech and of the media and it should not yield to any pressure from anybody or any institution.
• It is the duty of the press to publish information that should be in the public domain, on what goes on in society and to uncover and disclose matters that ought to be subjected to public debate.
• It is the duty of the press to protect individuals against injustices or neglect committed by public authorities and institutions, private concerns and others.
1. Veracity and accuracy in reporting are an integral part of editorial policy and editors will only publish that which they believe to be true, fair and accurate.
2. All editorial content will be selected for its inherent news value and not to appease, augment or respond to political, commercial or any other interests.
3. We stand for racial, ethnic, religious and communal harmony and political/party tolerance as well as other forms of pluralism.
4. We support the principles of democracy as they are most widely understood, that is, good governance, transparency and accountability, regular, free and fair elections as well as social equity.
5. We support and promote public debate on matters of national importance with a view to bringing about behavioural and policy change for the common good.
We will avoid presenting acts of violence, armed robberies, banditry and terrorist activities in a manner that glorifies such anti-social conduct. We will not encourage or glorify social evils, warlike activities, ethnic, racial or religious hostilities.
We hope that as soon as possible, the government will also reopen The Red Pepper, carrying forward the commitment to diversity of expression that informed the reopening of The Monitor and its radio stations.

Madagascar PM, President fall out as island's political crisis deepens

By RIVONALA RAZAFISON in Antananarivo | 

Madagascar prime minister Jean-Omer Beriziky. RIVONALA RAZAFISON | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

Madagascar Prime Minister Jean-Omer Beriziky is under pressure to resign as political troubles precipitated by a 2009 coup on the Indian Ocean island deepened.

A July election expected to end the country's crisis is uncertain, and now supporters of current leader Andry Rajoelina have demanded Mr Beriziky leave over what they say is insubordination, even as the premier said he did not recognise the President's authority.

At a meeting between the Cabinet and the Parliament on Thursday, members of the Transitional Congress allied to Mr Rajoelina asked the consensual premier to resign, accusing him of repetitive infringements and rebellion against the President.

Mr Beriziky was also accused of allowing foreigners to freely interfere in the country’s internal affairs and of failing to perform his duties in government effectively.

His latest perceived infraction was his absence from the Ministers Council chaired by President Rajoelina at the state palace of Iavoloha on Wednesday, where he is said to have conducted another Cabinet meeting with some ministers at the state palace of Mahazoarivo.

'Internal crisis'

This has resulted in what the President termed as "institutional crisis" according to a statement from his Press Service.

In reaction, Mr Beriziky has said he would not attend any ministers council led by Mr Rajoelina as long as the President is a candidate in the presidential election in the election initially scheduled for July 24.

According to him, Mr Rajoelina has disregarded laws which provide that he resign at least 60 days before the election date.

Mr Rajoelina, 38, has so far refused to resign.

"If the President declared he is no longer a contestant for the next political race, I’m ready to return to the Ministers Councils," Mr Beriziky said.

"I have respected my own engagements towards the internationally-brokered roadmap [agreed in 2011] which remains my boss until further notice," he added.

External factors

The prime minister said he would only leave if mandated to do so by an institution with the authority.

"I’m ready to quit office if this is for the good of the nation," he told reporters at the end of the meeting at the Transitional Congress headquarters that is looking to resolve the crisis.

The consensual premier was appointed in 2011 during the implementation of a roadmap signed by various Malagasy stakeholders.
Even the President is unable to remove him until the end of the transition period, according to the roadmap which became Malagasy law last year.

On Wednesday, the country's interim government paved the way the postponement of the elections after a court found that external factors had derailed the poll preparations.

The suspension of election funding by major donors and the international rejection of three controversial presidential candidates, including Mr Rajoelina and former First Lady Lalao Ravalomana, would be ready by that date.

AU at 50: Land issues plague Africa as states lease out community land to foreigners

According to the Oxfam report, Our Land, Our Lives which was released last year, an area equivalent to the size of Kenya has been sold off in Africa to international investors over the past decade in order to facilitate the growing of bio fuel and other commercial crops.  GRAPHIC| NATION MEDIA GROUP

This week the African Union celebrates its 50th anniversary. How far has the continent come in those fifty years?

For one thing, the land that Africans fought to reclaim from foreign colonisers is being once again taken away from them, this time not by force but through purchase — their leaders are literally selling it from under their feet.

This is perhaps the most urgent continent-wide issue the African Union needs to address.

More than 60 per cent of the African population lives in rural areas and depends on land for its survival. However, reports show that in 2010, up to 123.5 million acres of African land — double the size of Britain — had been grabbed from peasants with the help of their governments.

Also READ: Oxfam report raises red flag on land grabs in Africa

According to Human Rights Watch, as many as 70,000 people in western Gambela region in Ethiopia have been relocated, against their will, to new villages that “lack adequate food, farmland, healthcare and educational facilities.”

Eviction

Quoting one of the victims, the BBC in one of its reports said the Ethiopian government told them an investor was coming who would develop the land alongside the locals.

“They didn’t say the land would be taken away from us entirely,” the victim said.

The investor, Bangalore-based Karuturi Global Ltd, will lease a total of 311,000 hectares in Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, all land is owned by the state and is leased out to private individuals and companies. In some places, communities often have pre-existing communal claims on the land, which are not acknowledged by the state.

In Tanzania, the government plans to evict Maasai communities from their 4,000 square kilometre ancestral land.

The eviction is reportedly to protect wildlife, which the government says is a major source of income from hunting and safaris and is under threat from overgrazing by Maasai cattle.

ALSO READ: Communities now lose land to the ‘green grab’

According to CNN, under the plan, most of the conservation corridor will still be accessible for grazing but no one will be allowed to live there. The other 1,500 square kilometres will be a “game controlled area,” where hunting is permitted with controlled access.

Maasai leaders claim they will be evicted from their own land and will lose about 40 per cent of their grazing land.

The land is located in the lush hills of Loliondo, northern Tanzania.

'Death sentence'

During colonial times, the area was a hunting ground for European royalty. Today, it is Emirati royals and other wealthy visitors who are being granted the rights to hunt, fanning a controversy that has simmered for two decades.

The hills are where the Maasai take their cattle to graze during the dry season. To restrict their access, the Maasai say, is “a death sentence.”

For rural Maasai, cattle provide milk, meat, and blood, and can even be used as currency. The survival of the cattle is the community’s survival.

Oxfam International reports that Asian and Middle East companies have bought 560 million acres of farmland, mostly in Africa and often at bargain prices, with some reportedly at less than $1 a hectare.

Quoted by the BBC recently, former UN secretary general Kofi Annan said tax avoidance, secret mining deals and financial transfers are depriving Africa of the benefits of its resources boom.

Firms that shift profits to lower tax jurisdictions cost Africa $38bn, twice as much as the continent receives from highly tied money from donors.

“It is like taking food off the tables of the poor,” said Mr Annan.

According to financial results released in mid-May, six companies with large British ownership will take home $238 million of the total $451 million declared in dividends and fees due to shareholders.

Yet the world is awash with stories of “Africa rising,” condoned by the AU, while the profits are made at the expense of Africans who benefits very little.

Kenyan woman joins Class One at 78

Ms Mariana Ololo, 78, is welcomed by class teacher Beatrice Akinyi (left) upon her admission to Class One at Obambo Primary School in western Kenya's Siaya County. JACOB OWITI | NATION MEDIA GROUP   NATION MEDIA GROUP

She is in Standard One against many odds: At 78 years, she is frail, and within a week, she has already skipped school for two days due to an illness. To make matters worse, she smokes.

Obambo Primary School in western Kenya's Siaya County admitted the “pupil” this term. Mrs Mariana Ong’ango Ololo, now the 87th pupil in the class, has left tongues wagging among residents of Yenga Village in Obambo Sub-Location.

When Nation visited the school two weeks ago, Mrs Ololo was yet to be admitted, two days after she made her unannounced entry to the school on May 14.

She had arrived clad in a full school uniform, her head shaved clean and with a bag on her back. Her 56-year-old son George Ololo, who is an alumnus of the school, was accompanying her as the guardian.

Mrs Ololo, however, could not join class just yet. The school headteacher advised her not to get into class before teachers held a meeting to discuss how to deal with her.

“It is a unique case. We have to lay down a strategy of handling such an elderly pupil,” said Mr Joseph Mulo, the school head.

She was later admitted to class and attended lessons from Monday, May 20, through Thursday. She could not make it to school on Friday as she had fallen ill. Her illness persisted through the weekend, meaning that she couldn’t make it to class Tuesday.

Mrs Ololo’s is a story of swimming against the tide.

A mother of eight and a widow since 2002, she is one of the few women in her matrimonial home who have an unwavering interest in politics — the biggest reason behind her decision to join school

For a long time, Mrs Ololo has been drumming up support for various aspirants in the area.

“She is a great mobiliser. Whenever she throws her weight behind a particular candidate, she is unstoppable,” said her son, George,

Master’s degree

Former Alego-Usonga MP Edwin Yinda and former area councillor Adero Kayenga have previously benefitted from Mrs Ololo’s campaign skills.

“She usually tells us how much she admires English; that she is always moved when she hears people conversing in English,” said her son.

She also told the Nation that she is always at a loss whenever foreign guests pay her a visit.

“I normally feel I have not spoken my heart out whenever I speak to visitors that come with my sons. I wish I could speak to them directly,” she said.

But what made her not to look back on her dream of going to school was the recent change of guard at State House.

“Uhuru Kenyatta is not an old man, but took over as fourth President because he has got an education. That is a clear indicator that a person cannot rank highly in society without an education,” she said.

Her son added that she had a sense of fascination with the “digital” era that the Jubilee government had promised to usher in.

While most of her peers would be at home during their sunset days, Mrs Ololo is determined to stay in class till the day her dreams come true.

“It wasn’t easy letting her go to school. At first we thought it was a joke, but she insisted. We asked her how she would survive in class, for she is a smoker. She promised to let go of tobacco as long as she was in class. So we had no option but to fulfil her wish,” explained her son George.

Mrs Ololo has something of pride in her five sons: All of them were educated up to Form Four.

“My husband Andrew Ololo worked hard and educated all our sons. Considering his meagre earnings, what he did was exemplary,” Mrs Ololo said.

One of her sons is a graphic designer based in Belgium while another is pursuing his master’s degree in South Africa.