Minister assures S4 candidates they will not miss exams over CA scores
Chemutai told Parliament, chaired by Speaker Jacob Oboth, that the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) was already engaging schools that had not submitted the scores and that all affected candidates would be allowed to sit their examinations.
Chemutai told Parliament, chaired by Speaker Jacob Oboth, that the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) was already engaging schools that had not submitted the scores and that all affected candidates would be allowed to sit their examinations. (New Vision/Files)
KAMPALA - The Minister of State for Primary Education, Phyllis Chemutai, has assured Senior Four candidates that delays by schools in submitting continuous assessment scores (CA) will not prevent them from sitting their Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations.
Chemutai told Parliament, chaired by Speaker Jacob Oboth, that the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) was already engaging schools that had not submitted the scores and that all affected candidates would be allowed to sit their examinations.
“UNEB is in touch with these schools and the schools will send the scores to UNEB and the students will not miss exams. They will all do the exams because the issue of continuous assessment scores is between the schools and UNEB,” Chemutai said.
Her assurance followed concerns raised by Kigulu South MP Andrew Kiiza Kaluya that more than 90,000 Senior Four candidates could be affected if their schools failed to submit the continuous assessment scores by the September 30 deadline.
“The students should not pay for a school’s failure,” Kaluya told Parliament, warning that candidates should not be disadvantaged by administrative or technical challenges at their schools.
He said some schools were struggling to submit the scores because of poor internet connectivity, power interruptions and inadequate ICT personnel.
Kaluya asked the Ministry of Education and Sports to provide Parliament with the number of continuous assessment scores already received by UNEB and the number of candidates whose scores remained outstanding.
“May we have the minister tell us the total number of students whose scores have been submitted to UNEB to ensure that these children are not affected?” he asked.
Chemutai initially asked Parliament for two days to consult officials and obtain figures on the outstanding scores.
“It is unfortunate that the deadline is tomorrow, September 30,” she said.
However, Speaker Oboth directed the minister to seek the information immediately rather than wait for two days.
“If the deadline is September 30, your deadline should be today, actually now. Just step out and sort out the issue. These children could be our relatives,” Oboth said.
The Speaker directed Chemutai to consult the relevant authorities and return to the House with the information.
The minister subsequently assured MPs that UNEB was communicating with the affected schools and that the outstanding scores would be submitted.
The continuous assessment component forms part of the assessment under the lower secondary competency-based curriculum.
Gulu West MP Gilbert Olanya asked the Government to reconsider the manner in which school monitoring is conducted, arguing that publicly confronting or embarrassing teachers could affect morale in the education sector.
Olanya said some children were being sent home and teachers were leaving schools, while also raising concern over delays in the release of capitation grants.
“The tendency of embarrassing teachers, what he’s doing right now, is going to bog down the education system in this country,” Olanya said.
MP Dan Kimosho said some teachers were operating under difficult conditions, citing overcrowded classrooms where a single government-allocated teacher may be responsible for more than 150 Primary Seven pupils.
He also raised concerns over the financial pressures facing schools amid Government directives against improper charges on parents.
Kimosho called for Government agencies to agree on a workable approach that allows schools to meet their obligations without passing unreasonable costs on to parents.
Speaker Oboth said the concerns over the treatment of teachers should be considered alongside the Government's anti-corruption efforts.
“Corruption by nature is embarrassing. And one of the punishments is embarrassment. So, until we make it embarrassing...” Oboth said.
Government chief whip Jane Ruth Aceng described the concerns raised by MPs as critical and promised to engage the Prime Minister on the issues.