UNEB’s certification fees unrealistic
Oct 19, 2009
EDITOR—I recently wrote to the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) inquiring about the procedure for certification of academic documents.
EDITOR—I recently wrote to the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) inquiring about the procedure for certification of academic documents.
Because of the ever increasing cases of forgery, many organisations, especially prospective employers, do not accept mere photocopies but insist on certified copies.
This is also one of the requirements by many universities if one is applying for post-graduate studies. I got the shock of my life when UNEB replied that they charge sh50,000 per document they certify.
While UNEB’s efforts to combat forgery are commendable, this cost is exorbitant for an ordinary Ugandan.
Makerere University charges sh3,000 per copy. Consider this scenario. Some organisations demand that job applicants should submit their documents in triplicate.
This means that if an applicant must submit three UNEB-certified copies each of O’ and A’ levels (six copies), they must spend sh300,000! It is good most organisations are still content with only the certified copies of university documents and tend not to be too strict with the O’ and A’ levels.
Otherwise how many people would miss out on scholarships and jobs because of UNEB’s unrealistic charge which way beyond the reach of many Ugandans.
Many young people have just left school and have no income and are looking for opportunities.
Secondly, another hurdle with UNEB is their insistence that one must go to their former school to get a letter of recommendation before the documents are certified. What is the purpose of this?
I thought certification was about stamping and signing a photocopy after looking at the original and confirming that it is a true copy like they do in many institutions like universities the world over.
In other words, all I want is for UNEB to certify that the documents I hold are not forged. If they insist on recommendations from the previous schools, how does UNEB certify a person’s documents if one sat in a school that no longer exists? That is likely with many private ones.
Cris Magoba
cmagoba2001@yahoo.co.uk
Because of the ever increasing cases of forgery, many organisations, especially prospective employers, do not accept mere photocopies but insist on certified copies.
This is also one of the requirements by many universities if one is applying for post-graduate studies. I got the shock of my life when UNEB replied that they charge sh50,000 per document they certify.
While UNEB’s efforts to combat forgery are commendable, this cost is exorbitant for an ordinary Ugandan.
Makerere University charges sh3,000 per copy. Consider this scenario. Some organisations demand that job applicants should submit their documents in triplicate.
This means that if an applicant must submit three UNEB-certified copies each of O’ and A’ levels (six copies), they must spend sh300,000! It is good most organisations are still content with only the certified copies of university documents and tend not to be too strict with the O’ and A’ levels.
Otherwise how many people would miss out on scholarships and jobs because of UNEB’s unrealistic charge which way beyond the reach of many Ugandans.
Many young people have just left school and have no income and are looking for opportunities.
Secondly, another hurdle with UNEB is their insistence that one must go to their former school to get a letter of recommendation before the documents are certified. What is the purpose of this?
I thought certification was about stamping and signing a photocopy after looking at the original and confirming that it is a true copy like they do in many institutions like universities the world over.
In other words, all I want is for UNEB to certify that the documents I hold are not forged. If they insist on recommendations from the previous schools, how does UNEB certify a person’s documents if one sat in a school that no longer exists? That is likely with many private ones.
Cris Magoba
cmagoba2001@yahoo.co.uk