By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has raised concerns over examination malpractice, with teachers implicated in aiding candidates during exams.
The UNEB Chairman, Professor Celestine Obua says examination malpractice continues to plague Uganda’s education system.
He proposed for the creation of a special court to fast-track malpractice cases meanwhile, as the board intensifies efforts to uphold the integrity of national exams.
According to Thursday’s results released by UNEB, a total of 722,730 candidates passed the 2024 Primary Leaving Examinations, an improvement from 648,662 in 2023. Among them, 84,301 candidates—representing 10.7%—passed in Division One, while the majority, 397,589, were in Division Two. However, 64,251 candidates completely failed and are ineligible for admission to Senior One.
At the Uganda Government Upper Prison School, Luzira, a total of 59 candidates who sat for the exams, 4 passed in Division 1, 36 obtained Division 2 and 13 obtained Division 3, while at Mbarara Main Prison Inmates Primary School, 37 candidates sat for the exams. Four passed in Division One, 20 in Division Two, 10 in Division Three, and three in Division Four. All candidates were male, and none were ungraded.
Additionally, UNEB registered an increase in the number of Special Needs Education (SNE) candidates but reported forgeries in registration of candidates with special needs.
UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo, said some schools are exploiting provisions for special needs candidates. He revealed that schools are registering perfectly healthy pupils under categories like asthma, epilepsy, or sickle cell anemia to gain extra examination time.
Odongo emphasized that while candidates with genuine conditions may require additional time, “Errant schools have been found to selectively register their better-performing pupils to benefit from this provision.”
UNEB also warned school Headteachers against issuing wrong and forged results to pupils as they seek admission to secondary schools.
