Anger as students fail to access Uneb results four months later

A group of parents formerly with children at Equator High School in Nyendo-Mukungwe Municipality, Masaka City, are up in arms, protesting the institution’s failure to avail results of last year’s Senior Four and Senior Six final examinations.

 The Daily Monitor has learnt that 14 students sat for their final exams from the school, but none has received their results to date.

 The Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) released the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams in February while Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE ) exams came out in March . 

 Parents accuse the school of demanding Shs500, 000 from each student in order to pay to Uneb to release their results. Rev Richard Mugera from Kako Deanery, who is a parent at the school, said   they are tired of visiting the school to inquire about their children’s results and need a final answer from the administration.

 “We are desperate and demand answers from the school management, let them tell us what happened to the results so that we can forge a way forward,” Rev Mugera said during an interview on Wednesday.

 Ms Sylvia Namuli, another parent, said when Uneb released results in March, they were informed that candidates whose results were withheld would get them soon – a promise that has not been fulfilled.   “It is over seven months and we are still waiting for our children’s results, we suspect that our children were given fake examination papers and they cannot go any further in their education unless they repeat,” Ms Namuli said.

 Deus Kyeyune, who sat his Senior Four final examinations at the school,  said they have complained to education authorities in Masaka City but have not been helped.

 On Monday, some aggrieved parents stormed the school premises, but the school management denied them audience. But later, Mr Leonard Ahimbisibwe, the school director, told the parents that by the time the students filled the Uneb forms, he was in prison and didn’t know what happened during the examination period.

 “I am considered as a director,  but you need to contribute Shs500,000 each to enable me go to Uneb and collect your children’s results, if you can’t do that, it will take me another one month to raise the money needed to clear Uneb debts,” Mr Ahimbisibwe told parents.

However, the school director declined to reveal how much money the school owes Uneb.

 But the parents vowed not to pay any money, insisting that by the time their children sat the final exams, they had cleared all the school dues.

 Masaka City Education Officer  Steven Kakeeto said both the  parents and students have not yet sought help from his office.  “ I am not aware of that case. Let those parents lodge a formal complaint in my office so that I can find a solution,” he said

Uneb spokesperson Jennifer Kalule Musamba couldn’t pick  up repeated calls from this publication to respond to parents’ concerns .

According to Uneb records, at least 346,816 (about 95 percent) learners who presented themselves for the 2023 examinations were able to progress to the post-UCE level . A total of 108,492 candidates out of the 109,488 who sat for UACE  qualified to join university and other tertiary institutions.