KANUNGU, UGANDA – The former Kanungu District parliamentary aspirant, Counsel Esther Majambere, has identified early marriage and entrenched poverty as the twin engines propelling the alarming rate of girl-child school dropouts in Uganda.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Hon. Esther Majambere delivered her impassioned call on Saturday, February 7th, 2026, while distributing over 600 mattresses to former Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) pupils transitioning to secondary school.
The ceremony, held in Bugongo, Kihiihi Town Council, was organized through her Kinkizi Work Together Foundation and celebrated the academic achievements of 2025’s PLE top performers in Kanungu District.
“We must stop treating school dropouts as a simple issue of parental ignorance or girl-child indiscipline. What we are witnessing is a calculated, economic transaction, often framed as ‘culture,’ where a girl’s education is sacrificed as a family’s distress signal,” stated Majambere.
Uganda grapples with one of the world’s highest rates of child marriage, where 34% of girls are married before 18 and 7.3% before 15, a crisis compounded by crippling poverty levels, particularly in rural regions.
Amidst the sobering analysis, the event transformed into a celebration of hope and direct investment, as each of the more than 600 students received a critical mattress to support their continued studies.
The spotlight shone on 15-year-old Nabaganda Rose, daughter of Mr. Mugabigwe Robert and Mrs. Murungi Molly, the district’s overall best performer with 4 aggregate points, to whom Majambere pledged a full bursary for her entire O-Level education.
“Our advocacy is mainly focused on the girl child, who faces a number of hindrances that can interfere with her education, such as entering marriage at a tender age or lacking school fees,” Majambere stated.
The legal activist acknowledged the government efforts to uplift education, thanking President Yoweri Museveni for the Universal Primary and Secondary Education policies and the Minister of Education, Janet Kataha Museveni, for her leadership.
However, she emphasized the urgent need for deeper investment in education, calling for increased staffing and better teacher pay to allow government-aided schools to compete with their private counterparts.
The Kanungu District Inspector of Schools, Mr. Tuyishime Erasmus, confirmed that of the 5,727 candidates who sat for the 2025 PLE, 572 achieved first grade, a sign of improving standards.
He and District Education Officer Mr. Shaban Adam praised Majambere’s consistent support as a key motivator for student performance.
Nabaganda Rose, a beneficiary of both the mattress and the bursary, expressed profound gratitude to Esther Majambere for her pledge to support her through O-Level education.
Beneficiary parents, including Twikirize Sadress, Katusiima Odiria, and Byarugaba Felix, appreciated the foundation for the mattresses, a practical gift that eases the financial burden on struggling families.
Through her action and advocacy, Counsel Esther Majambere is framing the fight for girl-child education not merely as a social issue, but as a legal and economic imperative for Uganda’s future.
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