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Heavy rains, fewer papers, empty stomachs mar start of PLE
Candidates of Ajali- Anyena Primary School in Agago District write their exams while seated on the floor due to shortage of desks. Photo by Daniel Cere
What you need to know:
A countrywide survey by this newspaper showed that the first day of exams was marred by transportation problems which saw exams reach centres late.
Nationwide- The morning downpour yesterday delayed the start of Primary Leaving Examinations in most parts of the country. In some areas, the roads were impassable for the distributors to deliver the papers on time.
A countrywide survey by Daily Monitor showed that majority of the schools started their first Mathematics paper at 11am instead of the planned 9am.
For instance, the Gulu district education officer (DEO), the Rev Vincent Ocen Ochieng, cited schools such as Aromowanglobo and Lelabaro primary schools in Odek and Bobi sub-counties respectively as some of the hard-to-reach schools where the question papers reached late.
“In some areas, the roads are very slippery due to the heavy rains. Most of these schools have feeder roads that are currently not in good state and accessing schools is difficult,” Rev Ochieng said.
In Nwoya District, Mr Richard Irwenyo, the DEO, said the distribution of the question papers was affected by poor roads.
In Kisoro District, the education officer, Mr Francis Munyarubanza, said some schools received less examination papers.
“We received fewer examination papers at Kaburasazi, Gitovu and Gasave primary schools compared to the registered candidates. The exams may delay as we improvise to save the situation by looking for excess examination papers from other schools,” Mr Munyarubanza said.
In Ntoroko, the candidates affected by the floods endured the weather and did their papers under make-shift tents. Most displaced candidates said they were disappointed because they did not be commute from their homes to do their final exams.
In Katakwi District, education authorities used motor bikes to deliver papers to schools in sub-counties hit by heavy rains.
Mr Patrick Ogwali, the inspector of schools, told Daily Monitor they had to access Magoro and Toroma sub-counties using motorbikes instead of vehicles because the roads are severely damaged by rain.
In Luweero, most examination centres didn’t know why they received the papers late.
“We have not been briefed on what has caused the delay in the delivery of the exam scripts for some of our schools but we believe the transporters could be the source of delay because we experienced the same problem last year,” Mr Livingstone Kategaya, the Kamira Sub-county chairperson in Luweero District told Daily Monitor.
Delays
But Ms Florence Ssekitoleko Bossa, DEO, attributed the delay to people in charge of the examination stores at different police stations.
“The problem was with the people in charge of the stores who delayed to release the papers. We believe the other papers will not be affected because we have talked to those in charge of the stores,” Ms Ssekitoleko said.
At Paipir Primary School, Uneb failed to send in an interpreter for their blind candidate. Ms Poline Lanyro, the head teacher, said they sent in their request to Uneb so that an interpreter is sent but didn’t understand why there was none at the school yesterday.
But Pader’s special needs officer Margret Lanyero said they were looking for one in the district to address the needs of the pupil.
UNEB executive secretary Mathew Bukenya acknowledged that bad roads and rains combined to cause delays.
“There were also issues of examination parcels being misrouted and taken to wrong storage stations. For instance, parcels of Namulanda under Lubowa and Tendo Nursery and Primary School under Kawempe had been taken to Kakiri. Similar cases were also reported in Kayunga but this were sorted out quickly,” he said.
Referring to a case in which one teacher had been arrested for teaching the candidates after briefing, Mr Bukenya said UNEB regulations prohibit anyone from teaching candidates after briefing. “Mr Haruna Sebuliba at Natete Muslim was arrested because he violated this provision and went ahead to teach candidates after briefing,” he added.
Reported by Dan Wandera, Henry Lubulwa, Ruth Katusabe, Felix Basiime, James Cosmas, Okidi, Simon Peter Emwamu, Julius Ocungi, Denis Edema, John Okot, Felix Warom, Robert Muhereza, Moses Okeya, Clement Aluma, Martin Okudi, Scovin Iceta, Patrick Okaba, Yahudu Kitunzi & Patience Ahimbisibwe
