By Charles Katabalwa/Umoj Standard.
Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) Examination for the 2023 candidates officially starts today, Friday, October 13, 2023,with the briefing of candidates.
This year’s examinations will be conducted under the theme “Integrity and security in the management of examinations is a joint responsibility”.
The UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo during the joint press conference with police at media center emphasize that the briefing is a very important exercise which must be conducted by the head teachers themselves adding during the briefing session, candidates must be made
aware of the instructions contained in the timetable as well as the Rules and Regulations guiding the conduct of examinations.
2023 UCE exams , starting with Geography Paper 1 and 2 in the morning and afternoon, respectively, and the total of 364,470candidates registered for this year’s UCE examination, as compared to
349,445candidateslastyear, indicating a percentage increase of 4.3 in candidature. Of these,184,014(50.5%) are females,while 180,456(49.5%) are males.
The candidates will write their papers from 3,863 Centres countrywide compared to 3,703Examination
Centres in 2022. Luzira Upper Prison Centre which caters for the inmates registered 59 candidates, of whom 7 are females and 52 are males.
A total of 118,735 (32.5%) of the candidates are funded under the Universal Secondary
Education (USE) Programme, while 245,734(70%) of the candidates are Non-USE.
7of the UCE candidates are Special Needs Education (SNE) learners and the board has arranged for them to receive the necessary support per their needs and UNEB will avail braille answer sheets for the blind, and large print question papers for those with low vision, while the deaf will receive sign language interpreters, Candidates with severe physical impairments that may affect the use of apparatus during practical examinations will also receive support personnel.
Those with dyslexia/reading and writing problems will be availed transcribers.
Caution against Examination Malpractice.
“The Board is working with various security agencies, contracted professionals, and heads of Centres to conduct this examination and We shall deploy 1,036security officers,
1,113scouts and 107,941invigilators” say Odongo .
“We would also like to strongly warn the public against fraudsters purporting to have the blueprint of the UNEB examination papers, and extorting huge sums of money from the unsuspecting members of the public and caution the public against dealing with such people. So far, nine key suspects have been arrested and arraigned before the court” he says .
Meanwhile the police spokesperson Fred Enanga has assured candidates of tight security.
” we have already deployed our officers who are going to monitor the Exams , already we have checked the roads reaching to each center in every part of the country to make sure that are passable being rain season to a void disturbances” Enanga revealed.