Hearing of withheld UCE results starts on Monday

Hearing of cases against schools whose Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) results of 2019 were withheld by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) is scheduled to start on Monday March 2, 2020.

A total of 1,262 candidates from over 40 schools had their results withheld on suspicion of engaging in examination malpractices, which included, among others, external assistance, impersonation and smuggling of unauthorized material into examination rooms.

UNEB executive secretary Mr Dan Odongo said that the board has now summoned the school heads and the learners to defend themselves before further action is taken.

Mr Odongo made the pronouncement on Thursday during the release of the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) at the Office of the President.

“The schools and candidates whose results were withheld will be invited starting Monday and this process will take a period of about one week,” Mr Odongo said.

During the hearings, the affected schools are asked to present candidates who are tasked to defend some of the answers that were written during the examination. If a school is able to defend itself beyond a reasonable doubt, UNEB releases the results.

However, in cases where UNEB has proof that malpractice took place, the results are cancelled and students advised to re-sit exams the following year. Often, the school also loses its UNEB centre number.

“Those who will be exonerated will have their results released immediately while those found guilty will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” he said.

Odongo said that candidates from the affected schools would eventually be placed in schools of their choice if they get the required marks and are cleared by the board.

“We talk to schools and ask them to reserve some places for some affected students. So parents should not worry about their children not going to the schools of their choice,”Odongo said.