Nakakande: Engineer who found passion in teaching

Ms Hadijah Nakakande during an interview last week. Photo | Edgar R. Batte

Ms Hadijah Nakakande imagined a career among factory machines but destiny had it that she would end up in a classroom, 25 years later. The electrical engineer is a technical-institute principal and advocate, preparing young people for work, self-reliance and a greener economy.

Ms Nakakande explains that her classmates saw the teacher in her before she could see it herself. At Uganda Technical College Masaka, where she pursued a diploma in electrical engineering, they often turned to her after a difficult lesson.

She had the uncanny ability to break down technical concepts until they made sense. Their conclusion amused, and irritated her. She should become a teacher, they said. Yet at the time, she wanted none of it.