Burundi woman with baby in hand receives degree

Mangaluru: A 32-year-old Burundi citizen, who received the post-graduate degree with her three-month old baby in hand, stole the spotlight at the international students graduation day of Mangalore University.

The woman, N Mugisha, who completed her two-year post graduate course in electronics, was among 22 foreign students, who received degrees at the function.

Mugisha, married to a physiotherapist working in Burundi, had enrolled in the university in 2015. She was pregnant when she returned to the campus after first year holidays. She managed things on her own at a hostel till her seventh month, after which her mother came to help her.

In his address, Byrappa said Mugisha's son could be considered the first foreign child born in the university's Mangalagangotri campus.

Another student, Fathima Hamid from Afghanistan, could not attend the ceremony as she had returned to her country after giving birth to a child here. Her husband is a research scholar in business administration at the same campus.

They had enrolled for higher education on a scholarship offered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

Byrappa said the new international house being built at the university campus was expected to be completed within a year. The university now had 220 foreign students and 100 more students would join the campus during the current academic year.

Of the 33 students who graduated this year, only 22 were present at the ceremony. The students were from Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hungary, Tanzania and Burundi.