The Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) yesterday released timetables for the 2023 exams scheduled to run between mid-October and early December. Altogether, 1,224,371 candidates (601,481 males and 622,890 females) were registered to sit their final year papers at all three levels of primary and post-primary schooling to be conducted in 20,921 examination centres countrywide.
At secondary school level, Uneb officials yesterday indicated there has been a considerable rise in candidate numbers; with 110,579 recorded for A-Level compared to 97,889 last year. For the O-Level, there is an increase from 349,433 in 2022 to 364,421 candidates this year.
The majority of candidates, totalling 645,191, are learners at public schools, with 579,180 being from private institutions. First off the blocks will be examinations for the award of the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), starting with a customary briefing of Senior Four candidates on October 13.
This set of examinations closes on November 17.The board’s executive director, Mr Daniel Odongo, told journalists in Kampala yesterday that Geography will be the first examined subject.About a month later, Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) will run concurrently with the O-Level papers on November 7 to 9. Mathematics and Social Studies have been scheduled for sitting on day one followed by Science and English the next day.
A week to the close of the UCE set, Mr Odongo said examinations for the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education will start with a briefing of Senior Six candidates on November 10. Sitting for the papers starts on November 14 with Economics and Chemistry, and ends on December 1.“Heads of centres are hereby advised to ensure every candidate receives a copy of the timetable, and that the same is also displayed on school notice boards,” Mr Odongo said.
Meanwhile, braille versions of the UCE and UACE timetables have also been provided for Special Needs Education candidates with visual impairment.Mr Odongo said whereas Uneb has been registering increasing numbers at O-Level every year, the board is yet to establish the reasons for the rise at UACE given that numbers at this level had been dropping previously. There is, however, a huge drop in candidates number at the PLE level by 83,438, down from 832,809 last year to 749,371 this year. He attributed the drop to the follow-through effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had seen many parents register their children, who lost a year out of school, for the 2022 set.
No cheatingCandidates, heads of institutions and parents have been cautioned against exam malpractice. ‘‘Candidates should report directly to the board any person suspected to be indulging in examination malpractice.“[There are] clearly spelt out instructions that candidates must follow and [include] cases of examination malpractice that can lead to disqualification, cancellation of results or arrest of a candidate. The candidates must further note that involvement in malpractice in one paper shall lead to cancellation of entire results of the examination,”Mr Odongo said.
What is malpractice? • Smuggling of unauthorised materials into examination rooms.• Copying or leaving work exposed to allow another candidate copy from one.• External assistance given by teachers and/or any other persons. • Prior knowledge of examination questions, or confidential advance instructions.• Impersonation, i.e. hiring somebody else to sit the exam.
• Improper behaviour, e.g. making noise, disobeying invigilators, violent behaviour.• Substitution of examination scripts during or after the examination. • Irregularity e.g. taking longer than time stipulated using different names. • Tearing the answer booklet into loose sheets, tearing out any pages of the script or folding the script in anyway.
• Being in possession of a mobile phone or any other communication gadget.• Being in possession of books or revision notes while in confinement before science practical. • Marking one’s own work during the examination. Submitting two answer scripts by the same candidate.• Any other cases of malpractice that shall be detected.
