Fate of 100 S.1 students in the balance over fake PLE results 

More than 100 Senior One students could be sent home just weeks into the first term of high school after it emerged their Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) results may have been falsified.
 
It is suspected that the 2023 PLE results for Bubaale Primary School in Bushenyi District could have been forged and handed out to unsuspecting former pupils.
 
Kampala Metropolitan Police are now holding the school headmistress on suspicion she allegedly issued fake PLE testimonials to the 114 pupils, which they then used to gain admission to different secondary schools.
 
The suspect, who was arrested yesterday at the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) offices in Kampala, has been identified as Ms Lilian Ayebazibwe. She was detained at Kyambogo Police Post, in Kyambogo-Banda, a city suburb.
 
Kampala Metropolitan deputy police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigire told this newspaper the Force is investigating two allegations; forgery and examination malpractice. The headmistress will be taken to court once inquiries are complete, he said yesterday.
 
Ms Ayebazibwe was detained shortly after meeting members of Uneb’s Security Committee. She had been summoned to respond to questions about suspected examination malpractice.
 
Uneb’s Senior Legal Officer Annet Kemaali said the headmistress allegedly handed out fake PLE testimonials after results for 114 pupils were withheld by Uneb on suspicion of cheating.
 
Ms Ayebazibwe’s arrest, Ms Kemaali said, followed concerns raised by a parent who questioned the authenticity of her child’s results.
 
“This parent immediately contacted us and asked if her child’s results were among the 16 that were released by Uneb and upon verifying, we found out that it was not among, which prompted us to start an investigation. [We then] learned that this child was not alone but with others, who had already used the results to join secondary,” she said.
 
Upon learning of this suspected fraud, Ms Kemaali said Uneb invited the head teacher to appear with her former pupils for questioning.
 
“We were surprised that she turned up with only 32 pupils out of the total 114 affected pupils, which raised our suspicions. We asked her to sign for us on a paper, her signature was the same as the one on the fake testimonials, which prompted us to invite the police in this matter,” she said.
 
As investigations kick off, Ms Kemaali said Uneb has suspended this school’s centre number which will only be reinstated when a new head teacher is appointed.
 
“We are going to issue a circular to all parents of the affected children to bring the results that were given to them by this head teacher for verification,” Ms Kemaali said.
 
In addition to the criminal charges, Uneb, she noted, will also slap unspecified administrative charges against Ms Ayebazibwe.
 
“Where there will be a prima facie case, the Board’s tribunal (Examinations Security Committee) will accord all the affected candidates a fair hearing before making final decisions. After the conclusion of the hearings by the Board’s tribunal, the list of districts and schools with cancelled results will be published,” he said.

Background
Proceeding under Section 5(2)b of the UNEB Act, 2021, the examinations body withheld 2023 PLE results of an unspecified number of schools and pupils pending investigations.

The Board’s chair, Prof Celestino Obua, said during the release of the results on January 25 that their scouts and examiners reported several cases of suspected external assistance being given to candidates by third parties inside examination rooms.