UCE: Distribution of Examinations Delays in Most Part of the Country

There was late delivery of examination papers and arrival on invigilators as senior four candidate started their final examinations this morning. Despite the fact that most of the examination center visited by our reporter opened as early as 7 am, some invigilators were stuck at different storage centers, as they did not know the location of the schools where they were deployed. 

At the Jinja road examination storage center, invigilators had to wait for school administrators to pick the examinations and give them a lift. As a result, some invigilators arrived late at their duty stations. According to the Uganda National Examinations Board-UNEB guidelines, invigilators and scouts are supposed to arrive at their duty station an hour to the start of the exams. 

"I don't like going to a school when I don't know its location. I do not know where City High is. I have never been there and I have been advised to wait for the person picking the examinations and I go with them," said one of the invigilators. 

Bukenya Balam, who was dispatched to St Kizito SS Bugolobi was also stuck at the storage center. "We do not know where we are going but we have been advised to go with the school heads. It is what we normally do, “he said

Many schools visited by our reporters around Kampala and upcountry were still waiting for the invigilators to arrive by 8:30 am when the examination distribution started. For instance, at Emma High School, Kyebando only one invigilator had arrived at school by 8 am.    

Georgians Ahimbisibwe, the headteacher at the school noted that the delay would affect the examination process, as the pre-examination activities like checking of the candidates will take long. At Samson memorial high school, invigilators had not turned up by 9:07 am. Hajati Afuwa Nabanja, the Deputy Head teacher was confused about what could have happened.

“We are expecting three invigilators but only one has shown up so far. It is already 9: 00 am and the students are worried,” Nabanja said. Eve Konde, the Kampala Area Examination supervisor, says there is no excuse for invigilators to arrive late at their duty stations. "We gave them their appointment letters last week. There is no reason why they should not be at the schools. They have been station as early as 8:00 am," she said.  

According to Konde, if the invigilators did not know where they were going, they should have tried to familiarize themselves with their stations early enough. While Konde says invigilators received their appointment letters last week, our reporter saw some scouts and invigilators at Jinja road examinations storage center picking their letters and posting instructions this morning.

By 8:50 am candidates at New Life SS, Katikamu North in Luweero district were still outside the examination room for checking. The distribution of examination papers in the area also delayed. By 8:40 am, the container containing examinations had not yet been opened because of the delayed arrival of the examination supervisors.  

In Mbarara city, a wreckage of the car that was involved in an accident blocked the examinations container hosted at Mbarara Central Police Station, which serves around 41 centers. The wreckage had not been removed by 9: 00 am.  

At least 333,889 candidates from 3,935 centers are expected to sit for the UCE examinations starting with the physics practical paper this morning. The candidate would have sat their examination last year around October. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the school calendar.