Uneb begins probe into held results

Primary Seven leavers whose results were withheld, will get feedback in two weeks’ time. This is after the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) started investigations today.

Mr Fagil Mandy, the Uneb chairperson, yesterday said the external security committee had completed the first phase of investigations and was waiting for the Internal Security Committee to invite the suspects to defend themselves.

According to Mr Mandy, the exercise would take about two weeks to allow the affected candidates, who will be cleared, to report for Senior One with their colleagues on February 18.

“Several people are involved in exam malpractice. The child is central because it is detected from their answer sheets. The external security committee completed its work and now the internal security has gone back to scrutinise them. Sometimes we ask the suspects to write to prove their handwriting,” Mr Mandy said in an interview.

External assistance
Results of at least 1,603 candidates were withheld following suspected involvement in various malpractices.

Mr Mathew Bukenya, the Uneb executive secretary, reported that external assistance was the most common form of malpractice, followed by collusion, impersonation and substitution.

Mr Mandy said although the PLE was leakage-free, there was a shift of particular individuals being bought to teach some topics they suspect would come in the examinations.

He said 34 cases of malpractices were registered.
He added that the marking criteria had changed, with Uneb not allowing schools to write their names on the scripts and examiners marking at least one of the sections to eliminate biased.

He also pointed a finger at schools hosting their counterparts without centre numbers, saying they were behaving unprofessionally since some failed to follow examination rules.

“If a school hosts one without a centre number, they are expected to mix in the examination room to rule out suspicion. In this case, there are schools, which sat differently. This is unprofessional and negligence,” Mr Mandy said.

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