Breastfeeding girls among candidates sitting PLE today

As the country conducts this year’s 2022 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), two breastfeeding girls from Nyakitokoli Primary School, Kabarole District, are among thousands of candidates who will sit the exam.

“Two candidates with kids have come back to sit for the exams. They will leave their babies at home. We shall have 50 candidates sitting their exams at my school because 20 other candidates are coming from other two schools without centre numbers,” the head teacher of the school, Mr Alfred Mugume,  said.

In other schools, some candidates will enjoy special meals during the two-day exercise that starts today and ends tomorrow.

One of such schools that will offer special meals is Ongica Primary School in Chegere Sub-county, Apac District. The school has 38 registered candidates.

Mr Richard Owani, the head teacher of Ongica Primary School, said: “We have arranged with parents to prepare a special meal for our candidates.”

Mr Jolly Joe Ogwang, the head teacher of Okutagwe Primary School in Chegere Sub-county, said: “I am appealing to parents to create a good environment for their children.”

The Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) yesterday expressed readiness to conduct this year exercise.

The Executive Director of Uneb, Mr Daniel Odongo, told the Monitor that the distribution of examination materials has been done alongside the deployment of all examination officers to examination centres.

“Just like the Uganda Certificate of Education, the board is set to conduct the 2022 PLE examinations and we are hopeful that everything will go on as planned,” Mr Odongo said.

A total of 832,810 candidates, 432,618 female and 400,192 males, are expected to sit for PLE from 14,153 examination centres.

Mr Odongo said this is an increase of 82,999 (11.1 percent) from 2022. Of those, 61 are inmates from Upper Prison School while 2,316 are pupils with special needs.

The chairperson of National Private Education Institutions, Mr Hasadu Kirabira, said schools are ready to conduct the PLE exams, asserting that their learners had completed the syllabus.

He, however, expressed worry about schools in districts that are under lockdown due to the Ebola outbreak.

“Teachers and invigilators have been encountering a challenge of transport after the ban on the movement of boda bodas during the ongoing UCE exams. We ask the government to ensure these issues are addressed before learners sit for exams,”Mr Kirabira said.

In Apac District, Mr Amos Odongo, the head teacher of Akokoro Primary School in Akokoro Town Council, said his school concluded the briefing yesterday.

“We are fully-prepared and just waiting for the first paper. We have traced 11 candidates who were absent and six have turned up out of 68 registered candidates. We failed to trace five candidates who are likely to miss the exams,” he said.

In Mbale, pupils from examination centres such as North Road, Nabuyonga and Namatala said they were much prepared for the exams.

Fort Portal

In Fort Portal City, the head teacher of Tooro Parents Education Centre, Mr Elias Agaba, said: “I have 58 candidates who are more than ready to sit for PLE. We pray that they keep healthy in the remaining days and we hope for the best.”

In Kamwenge, the head teacher of Kyempango Primary School, Mr Lawrence Mutabazi, said their 76 registered candidates will sit PLE at the neighbouring Rwamwanja Primary School.

“Two of my pupils who were in Primary Seven dropped out and I don’t know whether they will sit PLE,” he said.

In Kyegegwa, 106 candidates are expected to sit PLE at Bugogo Primary School.

“We shall have another school with 17 candidates sitting their exams at our school. We have prepared all the candidates and they shall observe the Standard Operating Procedures for Ebola,” Mr Enock Birungi, the school head teacher, said.

In Kyenjojo, 10 students who had dropped out of school at Butunduzi Model Primary School reported for a briefing yesterday. The head teacher, Ms Beatrice Kyalimpa, said they will be allowed to write their papers.

In Masindi, candidates have been briefed about the rules of the exam and the invigilators are prepared to supervise the exams. Meanwhile, authorities in Kabale, Kanungu and Kisoro districts said their worries remain on the delivery of examination materials to hard-to-reach areas in case it rains.

The Kabale District inspector of schools, Mr Wilberforce Nabasa, said 3,771 candidates are expected to sit PLE at 74 examination centres spread across the district.

“We briefed all the school administrators and all the invigilators have been fully-deployed,” he said.

In Kisoro, 5,599 candidates are expected to sit PLE from 83 examination centres, while in Kanungu, 5,662 candidates will sit their examinations from 70 centres.

“A total of 227 invigilators and 70 supervisors have been fully-deployed to ensure the examination process is successful. Our main challenge has always been heavy rains that affect the transportation of the examination materials to the hard-to-reach areas,” the Kanungu District inspector of schools, Mr Adams Shabban, said.

In Soroti City, Primary Seven candidates were cautioned against coming late to school during exams. The head teacher of Pioneer Primary School, Mr Alfred Agidu, said Uneb will ensure the examinations start in time.

“Parents should exempt our P7 candidates from any morning duties so that they don’t delay at home,” Mr Angidu said.

Koboko

In Koboko, four candidates from Koboko Unique Primary School are likely to miss the examinations. The school head teacher, Mr Godfrey Eyotre, said the four candidates, include a girl who opted to join a vocational course after registering for PLE.

“One boy has been sick since the beginning of term one, while the whereabouts of two boys remains unknown. We registered 74 candidates. Seventy turned out for the briefing and four did not come,” he said.

Mr Ishaq Mbalirwa, the director of Medinah Islamic Junior School, Nsanga Wakiso District, said although the school received an examination centre number, they are yet to get a sitting number.

“Our primary section started in 2019 and our operations were interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. We have 30 candidates whom we have prepared very well and they are going to sit their papers from Muzinda Church of Uganda Primary School, which is in our neighbourhood,” he said.

Mukono District Education Officer Rashid Kikomeko said 15,355 candidates from 234 centres are set to write their final papers.  He noted that over the years, the Islands of Koome have been receiving examination materials late, but this year, the examination body allowed them to create an exam storage facility at Koome Police Station.

Mr Dennis Davies Kasolo, the vice chairperson of Parent- Teacher Association at Bishop East Primary School in Mukono, asked candidates to refrain from engaging in examination malpractices.

Bishop East Primary School has 67 registered candidates.

Mr Gerald Nsambu, the Masaka District inspector of schools, said the district has 2,184 registered candidates, but the greatest challenge is inadequate funding for the smooth monitoring of exams.

Mr Godfrey Kaweesi, the head teacher of Masaka Parents Primary School, said: “We have had quite a number of different sets of exams from different schools and districts and we are expecting our learners to excel.” 

The school has 35 registered candidates (20 boys and 15 girls).

Managing exams

Uneb indicates that the field conduct of the examination will be handled by 139 district monitors, 12,391 scouts, 10,356 chief-invigilators, and 33,395 invigilators.

Seventy percent of the candidates are at Universal Primary Education schools.

Compiled by Damali Mukhaye, Bill Oketch, Santo Ojok, Fred Wambede, Alex Ashaba, Ismail Bategeka, Robert Muhereza, Naume Biira, George Muron, Ronald Acema, Al -Mahdi Ssenkabirwa, Noeline Nabukenya & Diphas Kiguli

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