In Mpigi District, the head teacher of Kisumba Foundation School in Buwama Sub County has been apprehended for allegedly refusing to register four candidates for the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) that commenced on Wednesday. Among the 16 candidates in the school, the suspect only registered 12 with the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb), despite the four candidates having paid the registration fees of Shs70,000 each.
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The Katonga regional police spokesperson, Mr. Karim Majid, reported that the suspect was arrested while attempting to escape on Wednesday morning at Bunjako Island, where he intended to leave the district via Lake Victoria. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect denied the candidates a chance to take their final exams, claiming they were academically weak.
Following complaints from parents about their children being prevented from sitting for the exams, the police launched a search and apprehended the head teacher. He is currently held at Buwama Police Station awaiting prosecution. The Mpigi District Inspector of Schools, Mr. Gerald Katongole, criticized the head teacher’s actions, stating that they contradict the Ministry of Education guidelines.
In the meantime, in Kayunga District, the director of Khan Seat of Wisdom School has been taken into custody after going into hiding for failing to register a candidate for the final PLE exams. Phionah Naikesa, the only Primary Seven candidate at the school, was not registered despite her mother, Ms. Jennifer Nazziwa, paying Shs120,000 in May for her exam registration.
Ms. Nazziwa was shocked when the school director sent her daughter away on Tuesday, alleging she hadn’t paid an additional Shs30,000 for her welfare during the examination period. The director claimed that her daughter would not sit for PLE but that he would “play a trick” to allow her to join senior one next year. Naikesa and her mother have reported the matter to the authorities, and investigations are underway.
The school director, however, claimed that Naikesa had not registered for PLE. A distressed Naikesa expressed her desire to sit for the exams, stating that she had worked hard, and her mother had sacrificed to pay her school fees for seven years with the hope that she could take her final primary exams this year.
The Kayunga District education officer, Mr. Dan Bubaale, is conducting an investigation into the matter and intends to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted. He also expressed the need for parents to be more vigilant in ensuring their children are properly registered for Uneb exams.
On November 8, a total of 749,371 Primary Seven candidates began their final exams at 14,778 centers, starting with Mathematics in the morning and Social Studies & Religious Education in the afternoon. Tomorrow, the candidates will complete the Integrated Science Paper in the morning and conclude with the English exam in the afternoon.
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