20 suspected demon-possessed pupils fail PLE exams

MITYANA. All the twenty pupils of Kiwawu Church of Uganda Primary School in Malangala Sub County, Mityana District, who reportedly suffered demonic attacks shortly after they had started writing their Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) all failed.

Read:

Suspected demons attack pupils during PLE exam

Lessons had only resumed on October 22 after parents hired traditional healers who told the school administration that he had exorcised the evil spirits

The 20 candidates are among the 84 candidates who sat their exams at the school last November. The results were released by Uganda National Examination Board (Uneb) last Thursday.

According to Ms Harriet Naiga the school head teacher, the other 64 candidates who were not attacked by demons all excelled with good grades. However, Ms Naiga declined to give details about how the other 64 candidates performed, insisting that all passed.

"It is unfortunate that their colleagues [20 candidates] were all ungraded," She said during an interview on Monday. When the candidates were attacked by the suspected demons, they started to shout on top of their voices and run around the examination room for 30 minutes.

The intervention of priests from the nearby Kiwawu Parish Church who prayed for the victims, saved the situation.
Rev Emmanuel Lukabwe who prayed for the candidates, said despite the failures recorded, he was impressed with the general performance of the candidates.

“It was a very challenging for all the candidates but I am happy a good number of them managed to pass the exams,” he said.

In the entire district, out of the 8,284 candidates who sat PLE, only 886 got first grade, a total of 3,451 were in second grade while 1,564 and 316 candidates respectively passed in third grade and fourth grade respectively.

A total of 836 candidates were ungraded while 239 didn’t not show up for the exams. According to Mityana District Education Officer, Mr Gerald Ssali, there was a slight improvement in the 2018 PLE performance compared to the previous year.

Ms Naiga urged parents to give them more pupils this year saying the demons which were bothering the school have since been exorcized.

“Demonic attacks” have of recent become a common phenomenon in schools and many pupils and students have fallen victim. However, psychologists and doctors believe these are not demons, but effects of mass hysteria and convulsion disorders. Learners usually dismiss this, insisting that they have genuine concerns.