District education officials implicated in PLE malpractice, UNEB

By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,

KAMPALA

The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has raised alarm over the involvement of some district education officials in examination malpractice.

The revelation was made by the UNEB chairperson, Prof. Serestine Obua, on Friday during the release of the PLE 2025 results at State House Lodge, Nakaseero.

Prof. Obua said investigations by the Board had uncovered increasing desperation among some private school directors and headteachers, who collude with compromised examination scouts to illegally access question papers before or during examinations.

“When examination distributors deliver the question paper envelopes to centres, some headteachers, working with already corrupted scouts, cut open the envelopes to access the papers in order to assist candidates,” Obua said. “Evidence gathered indicates that some district education officials are becoming complicit in this malpractice.”

Obua described the trend as a growing threat to the integrity of the country’s education system.

He disclosed that the epicentre of one major case was traced to a private school in Kassanda district, where the District Inspector of Schools, the school director, headteacher, invigilators appointed from Nansana near Kampala, and a scout were arrested.

“The arrests led security to other collaborating schools that had received examination materials through WhatsApp groups created for that purpose,” he said.

According to UNEB, eight suspects have so far been convicted and sentenced by courts, while others are out on bail, five are on remand, and several suspects are still on the run.

“Our security team, with support from security agencies, is hunting down those still at large. Their diabolical actions pose a serious threat to our education system, and we hope courts will pass deterrent sentences in line with the UNEB Act,” Obua added.

Additionally, the UNEB chairperson noted a rise in PLE candidature, while absenteeism has remained steady at 1.3% over the past two years. However, he stressed that any level of dropout remains a concern.

He further reported an improvement in performance at Grade One pass level compared to the 2024 examinations, saying more candidates qualified to proceed to the next level of education.

“With government efforts to expand access to post-primary education, I have no doubt that all the 730,000 learners who passed will find places in secondary and vocational institutions,” Obua said.

The UNEB executive director, Dan Nokorach Odongo, on the other hand, resounded the involvement of scouts and invigilators in examination malpractice something he says has affects the integrity of exams in the country.

According to Odongo, the scouts and invigilators are bribed or threatened with physical harm by school directors and headteachers to allow teachers to directly assist candidates in examination rooms.

“It is sad that some of our would-be partners in district education offices are becoming complicit in this and other unprofessional acts,” Odongo said.

Odongo said most of the withheld cases this year were from Kisoro, Kampala, Mukono, Namutumba, Kassanda, Buyende and Kaliro districts, among others. He, however, commended Kyenjojo, Kabarole and Bundibugyo districts for improvements, noting that no malpractice cases were reported in Kyenjojo following stern action by the Chief Administrative Officer in 2024.

UNEB announced that it would withhold results of affected schools, meanwhile as further investigations continue.

“Under Section 5(2)(b) of the UNEB Act, Cap 259, the Board will withhold results of affected candidates pending completion of investigations,” said Odongo. “Candidates implicated will be accorded a fair hearing by the UNEB Examinations Security Committee before final decisions are made.”

According to the released results, a total of 817,883 candidates registered for PLE 2025, but only 807,313 sat for the examinations. A total of 10,570 candidates were absent.

Of those who sat, 91,990 candidates (11.39%) passed in Division One, 388,293 (48.10%) in Division Two, 165,226 (20.47%) in Division Three, 84,724 (10.49%) in Division Four, while 77,080 candidates (9.55%) were ungraded.

UNEB congratulated candidates who passed and thanked teachers, parents and guardians for their support, while urging those who did not attain their desired results to explore available opportunities to improve.