UNEB gets modern printing press

PIC: First Lady and education minister Janet Museveni during a tour of the UNEB web offset printer in Kyambogo on Thursday. (Credit: Richard Sanya)

EDUCATION

KAMPALA - The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has acquired a state-of-the-art printing press.

The First Lady and education minister, Janet Museveni, commissioned the new equipment at the UNEB's printery facility in Kyambogo on Thursday.

The Indian-made equipment, which was installed recently, will be used in printing examination papers and answer booklets.

According to UNEB executive secretary Dan Odongo, the new printing press can print as much as 70,000 copies of examination booklets in a space of an hour, although manufacturers recommend 35,000.

Here, education minister Janet Museveni commissions the new printer

The old printing machine which UNEB has been using since it started printing examination questions and answer booklets over ten years ago could print about 10,000 copies per hour.

The old printer was acquired through a $2m World Bank loan, and UNEB started operating a printing press in 2007.

The web offset printing machine has been acquired at $3.8m which was allocated under the Uganda Post Primary Education and Training Programme (UPPET).

UNEB executive secretary Dan Odongo (left) and minister Janet Museveni during the tour

With the new printing press, UNEB, according to Odongo, will no longer have to pay other firms for printing services.

The minister said the new printing press will afford the examinations body more control over examinations and raise some money through offering printing services.

"Although we have been having a machine, it was printing at a slow speed and some could be printed outside our printing facility. But now we are going to have full control over our exams and be able to offer printing services to others at a fee," he said.

"You will be able to make some money and deal with some of the financial challenges," said minister Janet Museveni.

"UNEB now has a fairly large capacity for printing services and should indeed be able to offer these services to other education institutions."

She expressed gratitude to the board for crafting a plan for the printing press to generate money.

And there were a couple of group photos after the commissioning of the new printer