President urges students on career guidance, AIDS, as Education Ministry embarks on massive rehabilitation of schools in Teso

President Yoweri Museveni has cautioned students to be more serious about the subjects and courses they choose to do at school, urging them to target areas in fields such as agriculture, industries/factories, services sector, public service and ICT where they can fit as employees or as entrepreneurs. “When studying, target one of these including modernizing your parent’s agriculture. Don’t just choose courses for the sake of it. There are some courses whose demand is not exhaustible like medicine, nursing, engineering etc,” he said. The President was addressing students from Teso College Aloet, Ngora High School and Usuk Secondary School at Teso College campus yesterday.

He also handed over tractors to each of the school heads before touring rehabilitation and re- equipping works at Teso College funded by the Government of Uganda and the African Development Bank. The Presidents’ tour in Teso region also included commissioning of rehabilitated, expanded and re-equipping works by the Ministry of Education at St. Kizito Technical Institute in Madera where he planted a memorial tree and later toured several workshops before addressing the students’ community there.

The President also laid a foundation stone for a Library at St. Mary’s Girls Senior Secondary school where he also donated a school bus and pledged Shs 100 million towards the Library project. The President held a brief private meeting with Bishop Emmanuel Obbo and commissioners of Soroti Catholic Diocese in Madera Minor Seminary and later held a grand fundraising function for a laboratory block for the seminary at St. Peters Sports Grounds.

The President emphasized career guidance for students leading to a selection of subjects that would enable them have a livelihood adding that technical subjects are a sure choice for a job. ‘Once you finish here be innovative and start your own jobs. In future, government through the youth fund can support you through small businesses,” he said. He cautioned the students to guard against HIV/AIDS, warning that reckless behavior can lead to AIDS and betrayal to parents who have invested a lot in their lives and future and in government which is investing heavily in various institutions to ensure that they live a good life. At St. Peters grounds the President contributed Shs 80 million towards the laboratory project and called on the people to engage in modern agro commercial production.

Drawing various examples of fish farmers in Anyar in Kaberamaido and in Busia who earn millions from fish farming, he said the region is full of swamps that can be used to create wealth for the people. “Those who are not near the swamps can engage in fruit farming like citrus and mangoes to get rid of poverty from their homes. Every home must produce food but also make money. This should be the campaign. Once we do that, even things like fundraising will be very easy.

We are looking for Shs 900 million for building laboratory for seminary. If we all had incomes we could look for 900 people each with one million to contribute. The problem now is that we are under utilizing the land of Uganda. This is my message,” he said. The functions were attended by the Minister of Education and Sports Jesca Alupo, Minister of State for Teso Affairs Amogin Aporu, that of State for Tourism and Wildlife