370,000 candidates start UCE exams today

A total of 379,748 candidates have kicked off their final Uganda Certificate of Education exams today, Monday, October, 14 in various centres around the country. Of these, 369,601 sit for these exams on the new curriculum while 10,147 will sit for the transitional examinations under the old curriculum. UNEB spokesperson, Jeniffer Kalule said more females at 5,559 which represents 54.7% registered for the examinations under the old curriculum. “The new curriculum pioneer female candidates stand at 187,870 (50.8%), as compared to the males who are 181,727 (49.2%),” Kalule said. She added that the candidates are siting from 4,168 examination centers around the country including Luzira Upper Prison and Mbarara prison. The Luzira inmates are all sitting for the new curriculum examination according to Kalule. She explained that there are 825 special needs education candidates sitting the exams, 38 of these sitting the transitional exams. “UNEB has made arrangements for all these SNE candidates to receive the necessary support in accordance with their needs.” She noted that UNBE’s theme this year is "Embracing security and holistic assessment of learners in a dynamic environment”, urging all stakeholders to pay serious consideration to the security of examinations and its sacredness. “This is the only way for us to be sure that the learners who have gone through our system have the grades and certificates that reflect their true abilities.” Exam malpractice UNEB warned candidates, teachers and invigilators against taking part in exam malpractice that the exam body says will have dire consequences. “UNEB is partnering with various security agencies as well as contracted professionals to ensure the security of the examinations is guaranteed. Over 1,200 scouts have been deployed countrywide, along with 539 security personnel.” While high levels of integrity are expected from those we are working with, UNEB strongly warns against involvement in any form of examination malpractice, or facilitating the same in any way. The public is hereby cautioned against dealing with fraudsters who are out there trying to trick unsuspecting members of the public. Our security teams have already caught up with some of them.”