By Denis Turyahebwa
Over six hundred seventy thousand (670,000) pupils will sit for the forth coming 2018 Uganda Primary Leaving examinations (PLE) that are due next week on 5th and 6th November.
They will start with Mathematics and social studies and finish with Integrated Science and English on Tuesday.
According to the executive secretary Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) Daniel Odongo, while addressing journalists at UNEB offices in Ntinda on Thursday, the board has registered a 3.9% increase of the total number of pupils sitting for the exams this year majority of whom are females.
Mr Odongo said out of the total 671,923 candidates who will seat for exams on 4th and 5th November, 346,693 are females while 324,960 are males.
He noted that in order to ensure there is no malpractice in the examinations exercise, candidates will not write the names of their schools on the answer booklets but instead will use the Education Management Information system numbers.
“We shall have enough security, police and other security officials and over 10,000 scouts will be deployed,” he explained.
The examinations exercise will be held in 13,072 centers across the country.
Meanwhile, Mr Odongo confirmed that pupils from schools in Bududa which were affected by mudslides will sit their exams from Mbale.
“We have made arrangements for those affected by mudslides in Bududa, they will sit for exams in Mbale,non will miss unless there is another mudslide between now and Monday that may interfere with our arrangements, of course that is not in our powers,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police spokesperson SSP Emilian Kayima warned those planning to interrupt the examination exercise with malpractice tendencies to be ready for prosecution if arrested including the pupils themselves insisting that most of them are at least 12years which gives a go ahead by the law of Uganda to make them answerable for their excesses.
Kayima confirmed that police officers will escort exam official’s right from storage facilities to the exam rooms and a helicopter shall be provided to help in emergencies like floods and hard to reach areas.
