At least 474 Primary Seven candidates in Ntoroko District will write their Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), that start today nationwide, in makeshift tents after floods submerged most areas and made access to schools difficult. Another 100 candidates in Kasese will miss sitting for the exams because they were married off after registration or are engaged in child labour, education officials have said.
They are part of 604,971 pupils who registered with the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) for this year’s PLE. The candidates will start with Mathematics and Social Studies and Religious Education while Integrated Science and English Language will be done tomorrow.
According to United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) communication officer Catherine Ntabadde, the prolonged rainy season has caused rivers Lami and Semliki to merge and burst their banks, spreading over miles of habitable land.
She also added that smaller streams from Kabarole District found their way into Ntoroko, which has a much lower altitude than the surrounding Bundibugyo, Kasese and Kabarole districts.
The main low lands affected include Rwebisengo, Budiba, Rwangara, Bweramule, Butungama and to a small extent Kibuuku.
About 11 schools in these areas have been affected by the floods, forcing the UN agency to relocate the candidates to three schools to enable them do their exams.
For instance, Butungama Primary School will host candidates from Budiba, Masojo and Kasungu schools, Kamuhigi Primary School will accommodate Kabindiri, Kyabakunguru, and Rwangara while Kibuku Primary School will have candidates from Rwamabale and Bweramule primary schools.
“About 474 primary seven candidates have been affected by floods. We are on the watch out for areas around Lake Albert in Kanara Sub-county. We anticipate that increased rains might cause flooding there too. Many aspects of these communities have been put at risk, including health, sanitation and hygiene, learning, food security and livelihoods,” Ms Ntabadde said in a statement.
Uneb action
Unicef will provide them with transport to the exam centres, food and tents for accommodation.
Mr Mathew Bukenya, Uneb executive secretary, said at the weekend that the board was aware of floods in Ntoroko district.
“We know the situation in Ntoroko District which has been affected by floods. This may necessitate shifting the candidates to safer places. If deemed necessary, Unicef will provide tents to set up temporary shelter for the candidates to do their papers,” Mr Bukenya noted.
He added that they are working with close to 1,000 police officers and Internal Security Organisation (ISO) to ensure security of the papers to their respective destinations. About 8,534 scouts have been deployed to monitor the two-day examinations and some will be operating under cover. Another 7,484 supervisors will manage the examinations at their respective centres while 24,257 invigilators have been deployed.
At least 1,009 distributors will transport the question papers from the storage stations to the sitting centres.
“There shall be an invigilator for every 25 candidates. Scouts holding keys have been instructed to give out question paper envelopes to distributors not before 7.30am. This is meant to reduce the duration between distribution and the start of examination so as to minimize chances of leakage,” Mr Bukenya said at the weekend.
Meanwhile, Kasese District Inspector of Schools Ernest Thabugha said their education department conducted a survey which showed that more than 100 pupils who had registered to do PLE this year will not do them because some are already married while others are engaged in child labour.
Mr Bukenya promised to withdraw centre numbers for schools which will be involved in malpractice as well punish implicated head teachers.
The Monitor
UM– USEKE.RW
