The 2019 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations get underway this morning with the national examinations body, UNEB, seeking to involve everyone in the security and integrity of the process.

Under the theme of "Integrity and Security in the management of Examination is My Responsibility, Dan Odongo, the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) executive secretary says a malpractice-free examination process is a responsibility of everyone.

“My appeal is to all stakeholders and the general public to recognise examination malpractice as a serious vice and a form of corruption, and to support UNEB to fight it. Integrity and Security of Examinations must be everyone's responsibility,” he said in a statement.

He encouraged the public to report these cases direct to police on 0417773100, 0414286636, 0414289397, 0417691218, 0772625154 and 0754235413. He argued the head teachers to personally explain clearly to candidates their responsibility with an emphasis on caution against examination malpractice and its consequence.

“Experience in the previous examinations indicates that breach of rules and regulations by candidates occurred most commonly at centres where the briefing was poorly done or not done at all,” Odongo said.

Some 337,380 candidates registered to sit for UCE examinations from 3,531 centres across Uganda, showing an increment of 963 candidates from 2018. Odongo says the number of female candidates, for the first time, has surpassed that of males making up 50.2 per cent, up from 49.5 per cent in 2018.

“We have been reporting more females than-male candidates registering at PLE and now it’s beginning to come through at UCE,” said Odongo on Friday, when candidates reported to their respective centres for briefing.

In terms of distribution, 144,260 candidates are from government schools while 193,437 registered at centres in private schools. Some 401 students registered as candidates with disabilities. These include 60 with hearing impairment, 21 with dyslexia, four with visual impairments, 75 with severe physical handicap and 88 with low vision. Another 117 candidates are in need of extra time.

The examination period runs from today, October 14 with practical papers in Physics and Fine Art, to November 15.

Photo picked from PML Daily