Returning to school was no easy task for Mukobanya

It’s late in the evening and as darkness falls, its hard to imagine that the campus is filling with people who instead of heading home, are trying their best to beat all odds to attend their evening lectures.These are working people who saw the need to go back to school in order to get university degrees and other necessary qualifications that are needed to enhance their chances of getting good employment.In some cases, many want to get that much desired qualification, so that they can be able to retain their jobs that require high qualifications. The most pressing challenges are faced by working mothers who are pursuing degree programs. These students’s main challenge is finding time to accomplish these tasks simultaneously while leading extraordinarily full lives. All of them work, many full-time and most have children to raise, spouses or significant others to support, and other commitments.Choosing to return to school at a mature age was a very hard decision to make says Olive Mukobanya, a mother of three who attends evening classes at the Independent Institute of Lay Adventists in Kigali. She had dropped out of school at an early age due to an early pregnancy and failing to complete her studies was one of her worst night mares. “My decision to go back to school came at a time when I had given birth to three kids of which the last born was sitting for his primary leaving education. Going back to school was always a dream of mine, but unfortunately, my family’s responsibilities prevented me from pursuing my dream. The reason why making the decision to return to school was so difficult for me was because I had to make some sacrifices in my life,” Mukobanya explains.Like many of her married friends, Mukobanya says the scheduling of classes during weekdays and over the course of months long semesters would have prevented her from attending evening classes.“It’s had to afford to take time off from work or pay for childcare to attend classes. But now that my children are old enough, I can squeeze time between work and home to see that I complete my studies.”Ejide Ahokoramana who lectures at the institute under the Information system and management department says that these students find it hard to budget for the little time that they have between work, school and home.“Some of these students come late for lectures because of their marital demands or even stay away from lectures for a reasonable period as a result of home pressures and other demands and this affects their learning and level of achievement’ he addsHe however says that these students face more problems that are beyond time-management issues.“Our working students face additional problems depending on their socioeconomic status, career goals, and education level. Students who go directly from high school into college, live on campus, and are financially dependent on their parents are in better position to concentrate on their studies unlike working students” he says.“Many of these students drop out before completing their courses after failing to cope with the pressure of attending to their homes, work and studies which they have to do simultaneously,” observes Ahokoramana As mothers, they are bothered about their children. In addition, some have to contend with pregnancy while others nurse their new born babies alongside their studies,” Ahokoramana says.