Kampala- The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has today, Tuesday November 7, 2023 commissioned the start of the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) and the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations.
According to the Executive Director of UNEB Dan Odong, PLE will start Tuesday with briefing of candidates at 2pm. The candidates will then write their examinations on 8th and 9th November 2023. A total of 749,347 candidates registered to sit for this year’s PLE exams, of which 52% are females while 48% are males.
For UACE, briefing of candidates will be conducted on Friday and students will write their exams from November 13th to December 1st 2023. A total of 110,569 candidates registered for the examinations of which 43% are females and 57% are males.
While commissioning these exams at Uganda Media centre on Tuesday, Dan Odong cautioned schools against defrauding government by registering private students as Universe Primary Education (UPE) or Universal Post O’Level Education and Training (UPOLET) students.
“We have information on a number of schools that have registered private students under the Universal education programme. They have, however collected examination fees from these candidates and have not remitted the fees to UNEB. This is defrauding government. Such schools are advised to remit the fees collected to UNEB failure of which will attract severe penalities,” warned the Board.
Caution against involvement in examination malpractice
The Board has strongly warned all persons contemplating involvement in any form of examination malpractice that they will be dealt with in accordance with the UNEB Act 2021.
“The public is warned that there are persons who have set up social media platforms and have been collecting money purportedly to access and supply PLE question papers. Security agencies have arrested some of these, while others are on the run. There may be other desperate persons who might try to circulate what they purport to be PLE papers. Any person found doing so will be dealt with in accordance with Section 25 (1 ) (2) and (4) or the UNEB Act 2021, which provides for a maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment upon conviction,” said Odong
He warned that invigilators and scouts who negligently allow malpractice to take place under their watch will be dealt with under Section 26 (1) (g), which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of five years upon conviction.
UNEB has urged members or the public with information that may lead to persons involved in suspected malpractice to call any of their toll free Numbers 0800. 1-427; 0800-211-077. assuring informers of protection under the Boards ‘Whistle Blower’s policy.
