The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has asked heads of schools to desist from sending Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) candidates with fee balances out of examination rooms.
In his remarks to the media at the Uganda Media Centre prior to the briefing of S4 candidates on October 13, 2023, Dan Odongo, the board executive director of UNEB, made this statement.
Odongo said head teachers should not chase candidates from the examination room, citing that this practice has affected both parents and students a number of times.
“The centre in which the students are writing the examination belongs to UNEB regardless of its location, and so we shall not tolerate any behaviour of unauthorised pulling out of candidates,” Odongo said.
He instead advised head teachers to withhold the results of the candidates and demand the balance before handing them over.
“Head teachers should only withhold the results of defaulting candidates and also compile details of such candidates and submit them to UNEB,” he said.
Odongo encouraged parents who haven’t completed paying school fees to always agree on terms in which they can pay the fees balance to avoid inconveniencing candidates.
“Parents should get into talks with the school early enough to discuss the means by which the fees can be paid, other than waiting until the last minute when the candidates are inconvenienced,” he added.
The 2023 UCE examinations registered a total of 364,470 candidates, of whom 184,014 are females and 180,456 are males. The candidates will write their papers at 3,863 centres countrywide. 777 of the candidates are Special Needs Education (SNE) learners, and the Board has arranged for them to receive the necessary support per their needs.