Primary Seven teacher sits PLE exams

BUYENDE - A 40-year-old Grade 3 teacher who has been teaching English Language in a Primary Seven class, claimed that he had never done Primary Leaving Examinations.true

So Alex Ziribasanga, a teacher at Kirimwa Catholic Primary School in Kagulu sub-county, sat for the exams at Kigweri Primary School in Bugaya.

As UNEB officials grilled him, Ziribasanga claimed that he had accessed the teachers’ training without a Primary Seven slip and wanted to get it this year.

Clad in the school uniform, Ziribasanga was the centre of attention as he answered a barrage of questions before he could be granted access to the examination room.

UNEB officials had to contact the district education officer, Dison Bwiire and the district inspector of schools, Waiswa Dhauke, for advice, before he was allowed in, amidst fiery protests.

Tasked to explain how the teacher was registered, the Headmaster of Kigweri, James Waiswa said, “He registered with Excel –Buyamba, a private school whose candidates sit here.”

There was suspicion that Ziribasanga had been smuggled in to ensure Excel-Buyamba got at least one first grade. Waiswa said upon registration, his counterpart of Excel–Buyamba had told him that Ziribasanga was a 24-year-old peasant who had missed his chance to sit PLE some years back.

Later, Ziribasanga, a father of six who has been teaching for 10 years, confessed that he had trained at Bishop Wills Core Primary Teachers College in Iganga, where he attained his Grade 3 certificate.

Bwiire said they were investigating the matter.