This morning marks the beginning of Uganda’s Certificate of Education (UCE) exams for over 300,000 S.4 candidates nationwide. This kickstarts the assessment calendar, with the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) scheduled for the following month.
Mr. Daniel Odongo, the Executive Director of Uneb, revealed that a total of 364,470 candidates registered for this year’s UCE exams. Among these, 118,735 candidates are government-funded under Universal Secondary Education (USE), while 245,734 are privately sponsored. Examinations will be conducted at 3,863 centers across the country, with 777 special needs education learners and 59 inmates from Luzira prison also taking part.
Uneb has made provisions to support special needs learners as per their requirements, providing braille answer sheets for the blind, large print questions for those with low vision, and sign language interpreters for the deaf.
Today, candidates will start with Geography Paper 1 in the morning and Geography Paper 2 in the afternoon. Uneb has ensured that examination papers are distributed to all centers across the country, with the distribution starting 30 minutes before the 9 am exam time.
The Executive Director, Mr. Odongo, expressed confidence in a smooth start and reported that the examination papers were dispatched to various regions, including Karamoja, where anticipated logistical challenges were addressed earlier.
Uneb has deployed a team of 110,000 individuals to manage the exams, including 107,941 invigilators, 1,113 supervisors, and 1,036 security officers to ensure the exams are conducted without disruptions. Mr. Odongo emphasized the importance of upholding integrity and strongly warned against any form of examination malpractice.
Parents were cautioned against fraudsters claiming to have copies of Uneb examination papers and extorting money from the public. Uneb reported that nine suspects have been arrested and brought to court, with six of them remanded to Luzira prison until October 30.
Schools have expressed readiness for the examinations, and the Chairperson of the Head Teachers Association in Uganda, Mr. Augustine Mugabo, stated that there have been no complaints from schools across the country regarding the examination preparations.
