What you need to know:
- Student left off UCE register despite paying fees, police say.
Police in Mitooma District have arrested three secondary school administrators over the alleged failure to register a Senior Four student for the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations despite his claim that he paid the required registration fees.
The suspects are Jason Ahereza, headteacher of Nyakihiita Secondary School; Ambrose Centenary, headteacher of Rwakitanda Secondary School; and Abias Mujuni, deputy headteacher of Mayanga Seed Secondary School.
“We have put them in our custody so that investigations can move on smoothly,” SP Bagpipe said, adding that the ongoing national examinations would not be disrupted.
He said police had informed the District Education Officer and Inspector of Schools to coordinate with relevant stakeholders to ensure candidates in the affected schools sat their examinations without interruption.
“Those arrested can delegate other staff in their schools to take up their responsibilities. We have also informed the District Education Officer and the Inspector of Schools to delegate stakeholders to ensure that other students in the affected schools do not miss their exams,” he said.
Student alleges cover-up
The student, Edson Twinomugisha, 19, said he discovered the registration problem after being transferred between schools ahead of the examinations.
He said Nyakihiita Secondary School had 19 Senior Four students but lacked a UNEB examination centre number. The headteacher consequently transferred the candidates to Rwakitanda Secondary School for registration, where 18 were registered.
Twinomugisha said he was subsequently transferred to Mayanga Seed Secondary School without his parents' knowledge.
“I even sat for mocks with a valid index number, but the Sunday after briefing, the headteacher of Rwakitanda transported me to Mayanga Seed School without the knowledge of my parents or my headteacher,” he said.
Twinomugisha alleged that, instead of receiving his Senior Four candidate identification card, he found school administrators discussing his situation and was advised to repeat Senior Three because his previous marks were reportedly missing from the UNEB system.
He said the administrators offered him a full bursary and free scholastic materials for the following year.
“Instead of a Senior Four ID, they brought a meal card. That is when I decided to escape and run to tell my parents,” he said.
He alleged that the arrangement was intended to keep him at school until the compulsory examinations were completed, after which the administrators could attribute the absence of his results to a problem with the examination system.
Headteachers give accounts
Ahereza said he had handed over all 19 candidates to Rwakitanda Secondary School and paid their registration fees. He said he learnt of the missing registration only after a concerned parent contacted him.
“Everything was sorted, and the other 18 students are at Rwakitanda doing exams. I don't know what happened after,” he said before handing himself in to police.
Centenary admitted that Twinomugisha had not been registered, but attributed the problem to network failures in the UNEB system and restrictions on the school's examination capacity.
“My UNEB sitting capacity only accepts 70 students, and I had 72. I had to transfer two students. Due to the UNEB network, we kept trying until things refused,” he said.
Mujuni defended his role, saying the student had been brought to Mayanga Seed Secondary School for emergency admission but could not be enrolled as a Senior Four candidate because his previous UNEB scores were missing.
“I told the headteacher of Rwakitanda that he can only be admitted in Senior Three. He is now my Senior Three student on a full bursary paid by the Rwakitanda headteacher. He already has his meal card as we process his student ID,” he said.
Police investigations are ongoing. The circumstances surrounding the student's registration, the alleged payment of fees and the transfers between the three schools are expected to form part of the inquiry.