Uneb report pins top schools on PLE malpractice 

The Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) has reported extensive malpractice in this year’s Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), implicating headteachers, invigilators, and examination scouts across several high-performing schools.

Collusion, where educators coordinate to assist candidates, emerged as the predominant form of cheating. For example, at St. Mugagga in Nkozi, Mpigi district, a teacher was caught openly writing answers on the blackboard as the invigilators looked on.

At this, school, seven individuals, including the Uneb scout, the school headteacher, and five invigilators were arrested and are awaiting their day before court.

In another case at Kisoso Parents School, one of the leading schools in Masaka city, two teachers, who were not permitted to be in the examination room were found assisting candidates. A subsequent investigation revealed that the teachers had stored exam-related materials on their phones, indicating they had prior knowledge of the exam content.

“The teachers were offering external assistance based on the contents of the telephone,” Uneb said in a statement.

The examination body also reported the arrest of an invigilator at Green Hill Primary School in Buwate, who was caught possessing an electronic device in the exam room, which was suspected to be used for aiding malpractice.

In Kuyunga district, Uneb with the help of the district internal security officer uncovered another cheating ring at Lion Judah Elementary School, where teachers were caught preparing answers for the mathematics paper minutes after the learners had started the examination

“Upon comparison, the retrieved answer sheets were found to correspond with Uneb’s mathematics questions, in the correct sequence,” the examination body reported.

The school’s headteacher was arrested, and the Uneb officials assigned to the school were taken to the police station to make statements.

In Matakokore primary school, Butebo district, a candidate, Jennipher Namolo delivered a bouncing baby boy while writing her first paper. The father of the baby is a fellow P.7 candidate, and the baby has been named Joseph Odongo Mugaria. Namolo returned to write her afternoon paper and the subsequent papers.

In Kasanda district, Mackline Nakayiwa died on day 2 of the examination. The Lubumba primary school candidate had a history of sickle cells and was reportedly not in good health during the day one of the examination.

At St Noah Junior School in Lubowa, Eric Baryazayo was arrested for presenting P.6 learners as candidates while the actual candidates were being taken through the mathematics paper. Several individuals, including teachers, educationists, and former candidates interviewed for this story have pointed out that collusion is the most prevalent form of malpractice, one that Uneb has failed to address for years.

Derrick Murungi, a former teacher turned businessman, noted that obtaining prior knowledge of the exam paper is a costly undertaking for schools, but it becomes much cheaper if “it is sorted” at the school on the examination day itself.

“Schools bribe the invigilators, to either look away or even get involved in providing answers to the candidates. In rural areas, teachers even write answers on the chalkboard,” he said.

Murungi’s statement regarding teachers writing answers on the chalkboard during exams was spot on, as teachers from Nkozi were among those arrested for doing exactly that.

The former teacher further noted that, at some schools, to avoid scrutiny from security and Uneb officials, they sometimes “close the school gates and conduct their acts without disturbance.”

Rev Canon Prof Grace Lubale, a senior lecturer of education at Kyambogo University, pointed out that the collusion involving teachers, scouts, and invigilators is a public secret. He added that from what he has learned in most cases, Uneb officials involved in such malpractice do not receive large sums of money as some might think, but rather small amounts and a better lunch during the exam period.

“Malpractice has reached the core of our education system, and addressing it will require significant effort and multiple approaches,” he stated before suggesting that a starting point would be to de-register and ban teachers implicated in such offences from the profession.

Section 26 of the new UNEB Act of 2021 provides that “anyone who, while serving as a supervisor, invigilator, scout, monitor, or special needs education support personnel, negligently allows unauthorized assistance to be given to a candidate commits an offence.”

If convicted, they can be liable to a fine of up to Shs 20 million or a prison sentence of up to five years, or both. Furthermore, the Act stipulates that registered teachers who are found encouraging malpractice may not only face legal consequences but also disciplinary action in accordance with the relevant laws governing the teaching profession. 

This disciplinary action could include disqualification from the teaching profession.