The Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports has ruled that it was illegal for Nakaseke District LCV Chairperson, Ignatius Koomu, to force teachers to undertake assessment tests as a means to ascertain their capability following poor performance in the 2023 PLE results.
On Wednesday, June 5, 2024, Dr. Asuman Lukwago, the Secretary of the Education Service Commission, condemned Koomu’s actions, saying the rules of any exam require candidates to be alerted.
Lukwago, who was appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE), explained that some teachers scored as low as 27% in the test due to a lack of preparation.
Dr. Lukwago noted that the results from the mock exams in Nakaseke can’t be relied on to determine the quality of teachers in public schools.
“The outcome of the examination isn’t reliable until we understand the standards that were used because examinations are set by people who are qualified to set them. So if you set examinations just because you want to prove something, you can set difficult examinations. The rules of the examinations are that you have to alert the candidate,” said Dr. Lukwago.
In March 2024, Ignatius Koomu Kiwanuka, the LCV of Nakaseke district, subjected P7 teachers to assessment tests following poor performance in the 2023 PLE results, and upon the release of the test results, mathematics was the worst-performed subject, with seven out of nine teachers tested failing to secure 50 percent of the mark, and the poorest-performing teacher secured 27% of the mark, while the best scored 92%.
