Police, UNEB warn against examination malpractices

By Olivia Nabaggala

13^th Oct 2023

Police have vowed to deal with anyone who plans to engage in examination malpractice as the national examinations for Primary and Secondary education levels begin.

This comes after nine people have been arrested by the Uganda National Examinations Board, in collaboration with security personnel for allegedly being involved in the sale of fake UNEB examination papers.

Among the nine, six have appeared in court and been remanded to Luzira prison, while the others are yet to appear in court.

Based on court records and information obtained from sources within the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) and the police, a significant number of those apprehended, including teachers, primarily hail from urban schools in Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono Districts.

Records also indicate that the culprits have been involved in the distribution of examination materials in schools in rural regions demanding from unsuspecting school directors, heads, and parents’ substantial sums of money.

The police spokesperson Fred Enanga said this while addressing the press this afternoon at the Uganda Media Center Kampala along with officials from the Uganda National Examinations Board officials led by Daniel Odongo as S.4 candidates kick off their examinations today with the briefing.

Enanga says that they have deployed over 1000 security personnel to deal with anyone who would want to abuse the examinations.

Section 25 (1) of the UNEB 2021 Act provides that anybody who gains or attempts to gain possession of any examination paper or any part of the examination material or information purports to relate to any contact of any examination paper commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand currency points or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or both.

Subsection 2 says that anybody who willfully or negligently assist or causes any candidate to obtain or gain unauthorized possession of an examination paper, material or information or any part of an examination paper commits an offence and on conviction will be liable to a fine not exceeding two currency points or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or both.

While Section 26 of the same Acts provided that teachers, invigilators, scouts or any other person who assists candidates to cheat or negligently allow or fail to stop unauthorized assistance to candidates are liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand currency points or 5 years in prison or both.

Now, Enanga warned candidates and any other person who would like to break the law to stand warned but also appealed to parents to desist from pressurizing their children at this stressful time.

The UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo warned that they won’t organize any special examination papers for any school in case they missed any examination paper like it was done for pupils of St. Christine Primary School in Kakumiro district last month.

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