The Uganda National Examinations Board- UNEB says it will neither sympathize with a candidate nor get involved in a case where he or she is subjected to disciplinary measures by the school on account of indiscipline.
Dan Odongo (pictured), the UNEB Executive Director, said that being a candidate does not exempt a learner from adhering to school rules and regulations. Thus, he added, the punishment meted out to a learner who violates the established regulations will not be of interest to UNEB.
Odongo made the remarks during a press conference organised by the board ahead of this year’s Uganda Certificate of Education-UCE examinations which are scheduled to begin on Friday with briefing of candidates.
The Executive Director clearly stated even if a school has decided to suspend or expel a learner during the course of the examination, the candidate will not be shielded by UNEB.
Said Odongo: “Each school has a code of conduct which must be followed all the time. We have cases where learners have tried to burn dormitories for whatever reason. Should UNEB shield such a person? Of course not! What if he or she threatens the life of others? Our candidates are not above the school regulations.”
The comment comes at a time when several schools in the country are battling indiscipline incidents mainly involving candidates thus evoking the wrath of school authorities including suspension of the errant candidates and, in extreme cases, barring them from sitting exams.
For instance, Rev. Richardson Balinda, the headteacher at Nyakasura School, recently suspended all Senior Four candidates following what he described as causing a lot of confusion in the school. In a letter to the parents, the head teacher clearly noted that innocent learners could be re-admitted only after providing names of ring leaders.
Away from indiscipline, the board has advised that schools should not bar candidates with school fees balance from sitting examinations or pulling them out of examination rooms. According to Odongo, a payment plan should be negotiated between the school and parents earlier in order to prevent candidates from being inconvenienced on the day of the exam.
He added that in cases where no settlement is done, the school can work with UNEB to come up with measures of recovering their fees after the examination is done.
As one way to combat examination malpractice, a practice that is becoming common, the examinations body has added whistleblowers to existing security layers. According to Odongo, the board will reward anyone who discloses misconduct or provides precise information that will be helpful in preventing the vice or catching the offenders.
He however added that there is no fixed fee that will be given but the board will determine the reward based on the weight of the information given.
The examination cycles in Uganda are increasingly getting marred by malpractice, with thousands of candidates’ results being withheld annually at all levels of education. As one of the measures to curb the vice, the government recently amended the UNEB act to introduce strong penalties.
For example, Section 25(1) provides that any person who gains or attempts to gain possession of any examination paper, or any part of an examination paper, commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine of 40 million shillings or a jail term of 10 years or both.
In Section 25 (2), the act also sets similar penalties for a person who intentionally or negligently aids malpractice. The law also slaps a punishment of paying 20 million or 5 years in prison to teachers, invigilators and scouts found assisting candidates. Even those on whose watch malpractice is done can be charged under the same section.
Rose Mukasa, an examination officer, said that the board has over the years realized that some cases of irregularities and malpractice by candidates are due to inadequate, or no briefing at all.
Mukasa thus called on head teachers to carry out this important task diligently.
“The briefing is a very important exercise,” she said. “During the briefing session, candidates must be made aware of the instructions contained in the timetable and the Rules and Regulations on examination conduct. The head teachers must explain clearly to the candidates the consequences of their not adhering to these rules and regulations, and of cheating in the examination.”
A total of 349,445 S4 candidates from 3,703 Centres are expected to sit this year’s examinations. Of these, 175,923 are males, while 173,522 are females.
-URN
