The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Adjumani, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A visually impaired candidate sitting for the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) at Ofua Central Primary School in Adjumani District was forced to write the ordinary examination questions on the first day of exams after Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) failed to provide the special examination papers.
Reports from Ofua Central Primary School indicate that UNEB had earlier assessed the candidate’s needs. On July 30, 2024, UNEB sent an assessor to evaluate the situation of the Special Needs Education candidate at the school. This resulted in a subsequent letter, dated August 26, 2024, confirming that the candidate would be provided with special examination papers in large fonts and an extra 45 minutes due to his low vision challenges.
However, UNEB invigilators at the school discovered on the first day of exams that the special papers were not packed with the other materials. Despite their efforts to receive the necessary papers, the invigilators were repeatedly given empty envelopes instead. As a result, the candidate, Innocent Komaketch, was forced to sit for the ordinary papers in the sunlight outside the classroom.
Dawa Zena, a UNEB invigilator overseeing the exams at Ofua Central Primary School, confirmed that after consulting with other stakeholders, they made the decision to allow the candidate to sit for the ordinary papers, but under close monitoring.
Simba Lawrence, the headteacher of Ofua Central Primary School, explained that the candidate, Komaketch Innocent, who was sitting for his first papers in Mathematics and Integrated Science, became demoralized and traumatized due to the missing papers. The headteacher expressed concern that this mishap could negatively impact the candidate’s performance.
Ofua Central Primary School, along with two other schools, Odu and Sube, forms the sitting center in the district. The three schools collectively have 49, 52, and 31 candidates respectively. Among these, one candidate was supposed to sit the special needs examinations.
Edea Sunday, the Inspector of Schools in Adjumani District, confirmed the issue, acknowledging that the challenge had been communicated to the relevant authorities.
A total of 5,501 candidates are sitting for the PLE in 88 primary schools across 45 sitting centers in Adjumani District. Of these, 2,629 candidates are enrolled under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) program, while the rest are either non-nationals or attend private schools. This marks a decline from the previous year’s registration of 5,510 candidates.
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