Uneb Gives Update on Fate of 23 PLE Candidates Who Missed Mathematics Paper; Gets Ready for A-level Exams

Assessment body Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) has given a status update on national examinations as the ongoing O-level Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams enter Week 5, the last week that hundreds of thousands will be writing their Senior Four Exams, and as the Board gets ready for the upcoming A-level Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations which begin next week.

According to Uneb Principal Public Relations Officer (P-PRO or spokesperson) Jennifer Kalule-Musamba, a number of UCE candidates have concluded writing their papers while others still have some papers to write, but all will be done by Friday, November 18. These are expected to have their results sometime in February 2023. You can see top O-level UCE schools from the previous Uneb sitting Here.

For PLE, Kalule Musamba says that the Primary Leaving Examinations were “successfully conducted” on the 8th and 9th of November, 2022, in all parts of the country. The hundreds of thousands of candidates sat their end of primary level exams at 14,153 Examination Centres.

Up to 11,306 (80 per cent) of these Centres are based at government aided schools under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) Program while  2,847 examination centres or 20 per cent of the Centres were based at Non-UPE schools or private schools.

The Uneb spokesperson further noted that there were some cases of examination malpractice that were reported, with regard to PLE, adding that these were still being investigated, and that the suspects will be charged under the Uneb Act 2021.

KAKUMIRO CANDIDATES WHO MISSED MATHEMATICS PAPER

For the 23 candidates who missed their Mathematics Paper because they arrived late at an examination centre, Kalule Musamba gave an update, noting that the Kakumiro District Inspector of Schools has been directed to submit a report on the matter before a decision can be taken.

“In Kakumiro District, we had an unfortunate incident where 23 out of 26 candidates of St. Christine Primary School arrived 1 hour and 16 minutes, after the commencement of the mathematics examination, essentially making them late for the paper, and were therefore not allowed to sit the paper,” the Uneb spokesperson noted.

“According to the UNEB regulations, “any candidate who comes after 15 minutes from the start of the Examination MUST NOT be allowed to sit the examination.” The Board has requested the District Inspector of Schools to give a full report of what transpired to enable management ascertain the circumstances under which the candidates failed to write their paper. UNEB also plans to meet the District Leadership, and will consult with the relevant authorities to guide in making a final decision regarding these candidates.”

It should be remembered that the 23 candidates of St Christine Primary School were supposed to sit their examination papers at Mpasana Primary School. Their school director had promised to get them a vehicle to transport them to the Mpasana Uneb centre but he switched off his phones leaving the candidates stranded. (See Details Here).

But it seems that it might take a little longer to have the issue resolved as consultations between Uneb and district authorities drag on.

You can see the list of Uganda’s top 300 PLE schools HERE.

ROADMAP TO UACE

Final Preparations for UACE Examination are under way this week. Candidates will be briefed on Friday November 18 2022, and start writing their papers on Monday 21, 2022. Ninety Seven eight hundred and ninety (97,890) registered for UACE.

Head Teachers are advised to thoroughly brief the candidates on the rules and regulations for the examination for at least two hours, to give direction, and caution them against acts that may result into a malpractice or being disqualified from doing the examination.

Time keeping is very important. Candidates are advised to arrive at theirexamination Centre at least 30 minutes before the start of the paper. This is to enable them to be identified and checked before entering the examination hall. In the event that a candidate is late, they should not go beyond 15 minutes, after the commencement of the paper.

Candidates and all concerned must note that involvement in malpractice in one paper shall lead to the cancellation of results of the whole examination.

Improper behaviour like disobeying or threatening invigilators, making noise, disrupting the examination, violent behaviour, among others, can also lead to disqualification from the examination.

The public is also cautioned against aiding and abetting examination malpractice through any means like electronic transmission of what is purported to be a UNEB Examination paper, material or any other information, related to the examination. Such a person, will be charged under section 36 of the UNEB Act 2021. The penalties for adding and abetting examination malpractice include a term of imprisonment not exceeding 5 years, or a fine not exceeding 20 million shillings, or both.

You can see the list of top best performing UACE schools as ranked according to points distribution HERE.