The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has denied allegations circulating on social media that it assesses candidates in urban settings differently from their counterparts in rural schools.
Dan Odongo, the executive secretary of the examinations body said the grading system is not biased in favour of any category of candidates.
Odongo emphasised that accessing candidates’ scripts is strictly controlled with robust security measures in place due to the sensitivity and complexity of the scripts.
Therefore, anyone purporting to have seen their child’s scripts and raw marks is making false claims.
“Allegations of certain candidates receiving unfair advantages over others are malicious propaganda, devoid of any foundation, and should be treated with the utmost contempt,” he said.
Regarding a specific case, Odongo clarifies that the alleged scores of a candidate said to have received an incorrect grade do not pertain to the recently released 2023 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) results.
He explains that UNEB has been in contact with the author of the original message, who confirms that it was written in 2018 and shared on a forum. Screenshots of the message were then circulated without the author’s knowledge.
While the author does not disclose the identity of his daughter, he mentions that she is currently studying in the equivalent of Senior Five at an international school.
The author of the post claimed that the person who allegedly assisted him in accessing his daughter’s scripts is retired from the Board.
Odongo emphasized UNEB’s commitment to conducting valid, reliable, equitable, and high-quality assessments of learners’ achievements in a professional and innovative manner
