Mukono school closed after failure to register S4 candidates

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Mukono resident district commissioner (RDC) Fatuma Ndisaba has ordered the immediate closure of Cream Field Vocational Senior Secondary School following the failure to register 15 Senior Four students.

The directors of the school located in Nakifuma-Naggalama town council allegedly collected Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) registration fees from the students, but didn’t register them.

Mukono resident district commissioner (RDC) Fatuma Ndisaba (left) speaking while parents look on. (Photo by Henry Nsubuga)

The students and their parents started storming the school on Sunday in tears, after learning that they were not eligible to sit for the final exams. The school directors, Sheikh Muhammad Ssenfuka and Ramathan Muwonge, along with the teachers, fled to unknown destinations upon seeing the angry parents and students.

Ndisaba, who was accompanied by her deputy, Moses Muyambi, intervened after public outcry. She also directed the Naggalama division police commander, Edna Nyiraneza, to search for the school directors, identified as Sheikh Muhammad Ssenfuka and Ramathan Muwonge, and have them charged accordingly.

Mukono resident district commissioner (RDC) Fatuma Ndisaba speaking with Police officers at the school. (Photo by Henry Nsubuga)

For years, some headteachers and school administrators have been known to misappropriate candidates’ registration fees. In response, UNEB introduced strict measures to curb such practices.

Section 32 of the UNEB Act states: “A person who is authorised, or purports to be authorised, by an examination centre to collect examination registration fees from students, and fails or neglects to remit the fees to the Examinations Board, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 40 million shillings, imprisonment not exceeding ten years, or both. In addition, the person convicted shall repay the money collected from the concerned students or their sponsors and compensate them accordingly.”

Rayan Kizito, one of the affected students, narrated that only three out of the 18 O-Level students were registered to sit the examinations, even though all of them had paid the fees to the school management, assuming that the school authorities had duly forwarded the money to UNEB.

Some of the students stranded with their property as they waited to be picked by their parents after the school was closed. (Photo by Henry Nsubuga)

The learners also reported that throughout the term, the school administrators had not provided teachers. They added that they had attended only two physics lessons and had been forced to find their own study materials and organise private lessons.

With tears flowing, the students lamented that their four years of education had been wasted, adding that raising school fees from their parents and relatives had already been a struggle.

The angry students turned their anger to the school property, breaking windows and doors, which prompted the Police to intervene.

The suspects in the vehicle which transported them to Naggalama Police Station. (Photo by Henry Nsubuga)

While at the school, the RDC learned that the directors also owned another school, Happy Hill Junior School. She immediately visited the school and found that the teachers had fled, leaving only the director’s sister and one teacher behind. The two were arrested and taken to Naggalama Police Station to assist in locating the suspects.

The junior school was also closed as investigations continued.

In a phone interview with the UNEB spokesperson, Jennifer Kalule Musamba, she stated that if the affected students had receipts confirming their payments, they should present them to UNEB to determine how they can be helped.