About 17 pupils at a primary school located in Nasanga Sub-county in Budaka District are said to be pregnant.

Presenting the Education sector report from various schools, Mr Sam Nayepe, a councillor representing Mugiti Sub-county said: “It is disappointing that 17 pupils of this school are pregnant and none of them has reported to police or any other authority.”

He pushed the blame on parents he accused of abandoning their children as they marry more wives. An on-spot monitoring exercise conducted in the district last year showed that at least 10 girls had dropped out of school for marriage.

The said headmaster confirmed that some girls especially in the upper classes were checked and found to be pregnant.

The check-up, according to the headmaster, was conducted towards the end of second term and revealed that about nine girls were pregnant.

In the school with a total enrolment of 1,301 pupils, the headmaster revealed that the girls are easily taken by small gifts from men and eventually impregnated. He attributed this to negligence on the side of the parents.

“When these girls are impregnanted, their parents encourage them to marry and this remains a big challenge,” the headmaster said.

Parents to face arrest

The Budaka District chairperson, Mr Sam Mulomi, said parents have turned their children into a lucrative business, adding that plans are underway to arrest defiant parents engaged in ruining their childrens’ future.

“Parents in the district have taken advantage of high poverty levels to marry off their children at tender ages,” Mr Mulomi said.

Mr Frank Mwoyo, a councillor representing Kamonkoli Sub-county, said parents who neglect and marry off children should be arrested.