The Uganda National Examinations Board-UNEB is to reprint the original Primary Leaving Exam (PLE) result slips for approximately 3,972 learners from 51 schools in Kampala, whose initial copies were reportedly lost.
The missing PLE slips are for candidates who took their exams in 2019. Sources with knowledge of the matter, but preferred anonymity revealed that the slips were lost by the City Inspector of Schools under unclear circumstances.
“The issue has been a source of concern for a long time, but the authorities had previously given the inspector the benefit of the doubt in the hope that the slips would be found. Initially, there was a suspicion that the slips may have been delivered to the wrong school, but this theory has since been ruled out, and the whereabouts of the slips remain unknown,” the source noted.
According to UNEB, the slips, along with others for schools in Kampala, were distributed as per the required procedure.
Unlike secondary examinations where slips are given directly to school head teachers, guidelines for primary education dictate that slips should be handed over to the district, municipal, or city inspector of schools, considering that the management of primary education is decentralized. Once the inspectors collect the slips, they distribute them to the respective school head teachers, who then give them to the candidates.
The source further explains that head teachers and parents who inquired about the missing slips over the past few years were told that they were being traced, as some had been mistakenly delivered to the wrong schools.
However, this explanation could no longer be accepted this year, as the slips were crucially needed for students, most of whom are currently in senior three, to register for the Uganda Vocational Qualifications Framework, which assesses vocational occupations under the new lower secondary curriculum.
The deadline for registration for the vocational assessments, which will be conducted by the Directorate of Industrial Training, is set for later in November this year.
This website has learnt that in order to ensure that affected learners are registered for the exams, head teachers at the affected schools were advised by KCCA and UNEB officials to instruct parents to obtain a verification statement, which is normally issued in cases where the original results slip has been lost. This was coming at a cost to parents.
However, parents of affected students from Greenhill Academy in Kibuli refused to follow this suggestion and sought legal advice, resulting in a petition to UNEB and KCCA with the intention to sue. The petition demanded that the missing slips be produced since the parents had paid for them during registration or face legal action.
“We have been informed by some parents that UNEB is advising them to apply for a PLE verification statement and pay a fee for them. Our legal position is that this is the wrong procedure. Issuance of verification statement only arises where the parent and learners have lost their academic testimonial, which is not the present case,” the notice read in part.
Following the concerns raised by parents, discussions have taken place between KCCA officials and UNEB, and as a result, the examination body has agreed to print new slips for the affected students.
Jennifer Kalule, the UNEB Spokesperson, says that the board has already verified the serial numbers of the affected students and will soon commence the printing of the new slips.
Kalule acknowledged that one of the reasons for the delay in making a decision was due to concerns about printing new slips and the possibility of the old ones resurfacing.
However, she said that UNEB is taking the necessary measures to ensure that the newly printed slips will nullify the previously issued ones.
She emphasized, however, that this is a unique circumstance and should not be considered a precedent for UNEB to regularly reprint lost slips. She advised that those who may have lost their slips should follow the appropriate procedures and obtain verification statements.
This is not the first instance where UNEB has taken an unconventional action. In the previous year, UNEB deviated from its guidelines and provided supplementary papers to learners who missed one exam due to their head teacher’s inability to transport them to the examination center on time.
But, experts have warned that UNEB should not simply rely on providing one-time solutions, but should instead review its guidelines to address all unexpected occurrences and establish standardized procedures for dealing with such situations.