The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has confirmed that 17 pregnant Senior Four candidates are among those sitting for this year’s Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations.
According to UNEB spokesperson Jennifer Kalule Musamba, the exams, which began in mid-October, have been conducted smoothly across the country, with only a few isolated incidents reported.
Kalule disclosed that two students, one from Millennium High School in Koboko District and another from Mayuge District gave birth during the ongoing examinations.
“Pregnant candidates are given an extra 45 minutes to complete their exams,” Kalule stated.
“While UNEB strongly condemns teenage pregnancies, we ensure such candidates are not denied their right to education,” she added.
She further revealed that some students have faced disciplinary measures after being caught misbehaving during exams.
“Some of these students found the exams difficult, became unruly, made noise, and even attempted to tear their exam papers,” she said, adding that the affected candidates were placed under police supervision to complete their papers.
In one of the most touching cases, a student from Koboko who went into labor while writing her Chemistry Paper 2 developed complications after delivery. UNEB later arranged for her to sit for an alternative Chemistry Paper 3 last Friday, ensuring she did not miss out.
Kalule noted that, apart from these few cases, the overall examination process has been largely incident-free across the country.
Meanwhile, as UNEB prepares for the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), Kalule revealed that the board has deployed 150 district monitors to oversee the process.
“Additional scouts and invigilators will be briefed over the weekend,” she said.
A total of 817,930 candidates are expected to sit for this year’s PLE, starting with a national briefing on Friday.
