The Uganda National Examinations Board is seeking for Shs10.7bn to curb examination malpractices by introducing new hi-tech measures.
UNEB Executive Secretary Dan Odongo made the revelation on Thursday while appearing before Parliament’s Committee of Education to present the Board’s budget framework for 2019/2020.
Odongo told MPs that UNEB pays over 47,000 people who are engaged in supervision and invigilation of exams but they are under the control of various District inspectors.
“We are using large numbers of people in the administration of exams. I showed you that for primary alone, we were using over 47,000 people. Not all these people are angels; supervisors and invigilators aren’t transported from UNEB headquarters, they are recruited from the community, they are teachers from the area, they aren’t people who are on day to day basis or staff of the Board. When you are dealing with 47,000 people, you are going to find people who are prone to be bribed,” Odongo said.
Responding to allegations of the continued cases of examination malpractices, Odongo admitted that the Board is faced with bribery among the people hired to oversee these exams and that is why there is need to move away from reliance on manual to machinery so as to improve on the Board’s security.
Odongo told MPs that the Board is embarking on a number of infrastructural installations that will improve security of examinations, among these is CCTV cameras at a cost of Shs2.1bn to be installed at all marking centers such that all activity can be monitored from the Head Quarters.
“Because we pack these exams manually, a few shortages may be experienced and that is why we are seeking funding to procure machines that will count, pack and route these exams because these types of machines are already in existence in the neigbouring countries and they have reduced this problem to a minimum. For us we still have to count manually and then pack, so once in a while, a shortage may appear,” he said.
The Board Secretary also stated that the board needs Shs2.4bn to procure an automatic wrapping and labeling machine for exams.
Currently, these activities are done manually leading to some leakage of papers.
The Board also needs Shs6.2Bn to procure an electronic smart locking system at exam storage stations and a security printer for certificates.
