School director accused of stealing UNEB fees, probed

MITYANA - Police in Mityana district are investigating Henry Ssemakula, a school director accused of stealing Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) registration fees from seven students of Bizmark High School.

Racheal Kawala, the Wamala Regional Police spokesperson, said the suspect collected sh270,000 from each student in April 2025, promising to register them for their Senior Four examinations.

However, he failed to do so and kept assuring parents that the candidates would sit their exams at Kalangalo Secondary School, since Bizmark lacked a UNEB centre.

The truth came to light on October 12, 2025, when Ssemakula confessed that he had not registered the learners, effectively dashing their hopes of sitting the exams.

Police investigations reveal that Bizmark High School has only seven Senior Four students and that Ssemakula runs the school singlehandedly, acting as headteacher, bursar, cook, and guard. Teachers reportedly come from other schools to offer lessons on a part-time basis.

Efforts are underway to arrest the suspect, who remains on the run. Police have condemned the act as “an exploitation of children’s future.”

Over 432,000 candidates sit exams

According to UNEB figures, 432,159 candidates registered for the UCE examinations this year. Of these, 52.7% are female, while 47.3% are male.

Jennifer Kalule-Musamba, the UNEB spokesperson, on Monday, October 13, 2025, noted that 6,779 candidates have special needs and will receive the necessary assistance, including an extra 45 minutes to complete their papers.

Among them, 28 are blind, 60 are deaf, 113 have low vision, and 73 have severe physical handicaps.

“Braille answer sheets and question papers have been provided for the blind, large print question papers for those with low vision, while the deaf have been assigned sign language interpreters,” she said.

According to Kalule-Musamba: “Those with dyslexia or other reading and writing difficulties will be assisted by transcribers. A total of 190 personnel has been deployed to support these learners.”

Security

To ensure the smooth and secure conduct of the examinations, UNEB has deployed 1,452 scouts, about 20,000 invigilators, and 546 security officers across the country.

“These teams will oversee the safe conduct of the examinations nationwide,” Kalule-Musamba said, adding that the Board appreciates the cooperation of teachers who attended last week’s briefing sessions and training engagements.

She, however, appealed to teachers not to link the ongoing industrial action to the supervision of national exams.

“We appeal to teachers not to tag their industrial action to the supervision of these end-of-cycle examinations. These are the same learners they have taught and nurtured over the years,” she urged.