KAMPALA, Uganda (UGNEWSLINE) — The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has warned school administrators against blocking registered candidates from sitting their Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations over outstanding school fees, as 503,055 learners begin their examinations today.
Jennifer Kalule Musamba, UNEB’s Principal Public Relations Officer, said candidates who had registered for the examinations must be allowed to sit, regardless of their outstanding school fees.
“We request you to let the learners who have been able to register for the examination from your centre sit for the examination. Later on, you can come up with a manner of understanding on how they can pay the fees,” she said.
She warned that it is not the responsibility of school administrators to prevent registered candidates from sitting the examinations, adding that UNEB could withhold results for candidates whose outstanding fees remained unpaid under the arrangements provided by the board.
“It is criminal for any learner who has registered for the examination to be forbidden from sitting the examination,” Kalule Musamba said, cautioning heads of examination centres against denying any eligible candidate the opportunity to write the papers.
The examinations opened with Mathematics in the morning, followed by Chemistry in the afternoon, marking the start of the assessment period for the candidates registered for this year’s UCE examinations.
UNEB also urged candidates to arrive at their examination centres at least 30 minutes before the scheduled start of each paper to avoid being turned away for lateness.
Kalule Musamba said candidates who arrive 15 minutes after an examination has started would not be allowed to sit for that paper.
She encouraged learners travelling long distances to make the necessary transport arrangements to ensure they reach their centres on time.
Despite the morning rains, UNEB reported that the distribution of examination papers had proceeded smoothly, with distributors delivering the papers to their respective stations by Sunday night.
“We are sure that all the centres are going to be able to access the examination papers in good time,” she said, urging heads of centres to be present at their stations to receive the papers and ensure the examinations proceed as scheduled.
The board appealed to head teachers, school directors and other examination administrators, particularly those in private schools, to ensure that every registered candidate is given the opportunity to sit the examinations.
UNEB said schools could submit the names and index numbers of candidates with outstanding fees so that the board could withhold their results where applicable, rather than prevent them from taking the examinations.
