By Eric Yiga
Education leaders in Mukono District have issued a stern warning to school administrators against any attempt to assist pupils in cheating during the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), declaring that such malpractice will not be tolerated.
A total of 19,533 pupils registered to sit the examinations across 211 centres in the district. District Inspector of Schools Robert Humphrey Mawanda said authorities have deployed a large number of both long-term and short-term examination supervisors to safeguard the integrity of the process.
Mawanda also cautioned schools against locking out candidates over unpaid school fees. He emphasised that even girls who registered for the exams and later became pregnant must be allowed to sit.
“We shall not tolerate any form of malpractice,” Mawanda said. “Supervisors are on the ground to ensure the examinations are conducted fairly.”
Candidates at Ocean Fields Preparatory School -Ttakkajjunge Mukono praying before entering Examination room
The examinations got under way smoothly on Tuesday morning. Officials collected the sealed papers from Mukono Police Station shortly after 8am before distributing them to centres across the district.
At Ocean Fields Preparatory School in Ttakajjunge, Nama Sub-county, candidates began the day with prayer. Pupils and the head teacher first prayed together, then sang worship songs and raised their hands in thanksgiving before lining up outside the examination rooms.
Supervisors and scouts addressed the candidates, urging them not to fear the papers because the questions were drawn from what they had studied. They also asked the pupils whether they had received any extra coaching outside normal classes.
To prevent the seating of non-candidates, officials first read out the names of registered candidates as they issued examination cards. Only after verification were the pupils allowed to enter the rooms.
Head teacher Beatrice Byarugaba Lando said the school was seating 25 candidates — the first group to sit PLE under the school’s own examination centre. For the previous five years, Ocean Fields pupils had written their exams at neighbouring Malala schools.
“We have done everything required of us by providing the candidates with what they need. The rest we have left to God,” Lando said.
At the government-aided Nganda Primary School in Mukono Municipality, candidates were equally composed as they prepared to start the Mathematics paper. Several pupils told this newspaper they felt well prepared and were optimistic of strong results, saying their teachers had given them thorough revision.
Head teacher Harriet Nabisubi said the school had covered the syllabus adequately. However, she raised concern over the practice of intensive external coaching involving as many as five additional teachers. The arrangement, she said, forces government schools to hire teachers from private institutions.
“We request that this matter of excessive coaching be examined carefully in the coming academic year,” Nabisubi said.
Candidates sat Mathematics in the morning and were scheduled to write Social Studies and Religious Education in the afternoon.
Education officials said the monitoring teams would remain active throughout the examination period to deter malpractice and ensure every registered candidate is given a fair chance to sit.
