Following the conclusion of the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), 23 individuals were arrested by police and the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) for indulging in examination misconduct.
Exam invigilators and UNEB scouts who reportedly whitewashed the exam by taking bribes from some head teachers and school directors to help students cheat on exams are among the accused in prison.
The two-day primary leaver inspection procedure concluded without any leaks, but not without significant difficulties, according to UNEB, including bribery from certain school owners that resulted in the arrests.
Following the PLE exams on Thursday, UNEB public relations officer Jennifer Kalule Musamba stated, “There were several attempts by Head teachers and School Directors to bribe UNEB scouts and invigilators for purposes of permitting external assistance to the candidates.”
The public, she claimed, was vigilant despite the fact that many people declined the payments, and numerous whistleblowers exposed planned instances of wrongdoing, which the UNEB security team and the police swiftly stopped.
“A large number of UNEB field staff declined the bribes and as a result, they took precautions to prevent outside help from entering their examination centers, upholding the integrity and security of the examination process,” the spokesperson stated.
In Kyebando, the police detained Gerald Kakuru, the chief invigilator, Brian Lwanga, a scout, and David Baka, the director and head teacher of His Grace Primary School. The three are said to have torn open a secure package holding science papers that were delivered to that specific testing location at about eight in the morning.
The school’s director is accused of bribing the evaluators and a scout who were duped into agreeing to reduce the exam envelope.
Jenifer stated, “It seems the goal was to share online and also give the candidates outside help.”
Along with the three, nine other invigilators were also taken into custody for their negligence in permitting an attempted malpractice to occur while they were watching. The twelve-person team is awaiting legal charges.
In a related development, more than ten scouts and invigilators have been detained around the nation for trying to offer the candidates outside help.
For example, in Nabweru, a scout assigned to Lyn Primary School was discovered writing candidate responses on the whiteboard. He was taken into custody and placed under arrest on allegations of encouraging and abetting malpractice by providing outside assistance.
A scout from Kajansi is being held by the police for attempting to pose as a UNEB employee and obtain money under false pretenses from a Lubowa school official.
at the meantime, Fortportal and Kabarole reports state that UNEB scouts have learned of coordinated attempts at the majority of the schools to try and offer outside aid to candidates; nevertheless, these attempts were thwarted and attempts at malpractice were intercepted.
