Kotido Secondary School in Crisis as Teenage Pregnancies Surge

By Richard Onapatum

At Kotido Secondary School, what began as a routine pregnancy screening has spiraled into a deep reckoning over parental engagement, school discipline, and community accountability. On Monday, nine girls were indefinitely suspended after testing positive for pregnancy—a move that has shaken the local education system and exposed broader social fault lines.

Among the suspended students were eight from Senior Two and one from Senior Six. The school administration says the suspensions followed a disturbing incident: the discovery of a fetus allegedly discarded in the girls’ bathroom. Head Teacher Emmanuel Lokedi, visibly distraught, described the incident as “a moral landslide.”

*“We’re not just battling pregnancy,” Lokedi said. “We are drowning in a river of broken values—this feels like an institution under siege.”

Youth at Risk
With an enrollment of over 2,000 students, Kotido SS has seen a consistent rise in pregnancy-related dropouts. Last year, six girls were dismissed for the same reason. According to District Education Officer Anjello Lowari, teenage pregnancy and early marriage now account for more than 60% of school dropouts in Kotido.

The Blame Game
In the wake of the suspensions, local opinions are divided. Dinah Lolem, a parent and vegetable vendor near the school, argues the fault lies with poor school management.

“They allow these children to roam in town during weekends—drinking, loitering. Where is supervision?” she said.

But Isaac Ngorok, a father of two Kotido SS students, fired back with a warning to fellow parents.

“We’re failing them at home first,” he said. “You give your daughter a smartphone, no curfew, no follow-up—then blame teachers when things fall apart?”

The Mental Health Perspective
Social worker Specioza Kifunza Nawal from Strong Minds, a local mental health organization, is calling for compassion and reintegration—not punishment. She encourages families to support affected girls to return after childbirth, and to understand the emotional toll of rejection.

“What happened is tragic. But abandoning these girls will only push the crisis further underground.”

A Changing Landscape
Community elders blame the rise of small entertainment spots in Kotido town—video halls, discos, and bars—as hubs where unsupervised teens gather. The allure of cheap alcohol and peer pressure often leads to risky behavior far beyond the school’s control.

Time for Action
With teenage pregnancy a national concern—and according to Uganda’s Annual Health Sector Report 2023/2024, a leading killer of girls aged 15–19—the Kotido episode is a warning bell. It’s not just about one school. It’s about the systems surrounding children: parents, teachers, government.

The question now is not just who’s to blame—but who’s willing to act.