A senior four candidate has died while another has given birth during the ongoing Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations.

According to Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) spokesperson Jennifer Kalule, the deceased candidate died on Thursday. Kalule states that the deceased was a special needs education (SNE) candidate who displayed remarkable courage while contending with sickle cell disease.

Kalule further mentions that, despite encountering a challenging ordeal during the examinations, the candidate managed to complete the initial examination papers. However, her health deteriorated significantly on the third day, leaving her in a severely weakened state.

The spokesperson explains that due to the candidate's extreme weakness, which made it difficult for her to write, the school made a request to Uneb for the provision of a transcriber to assist her in completing the remaining examinations.

“When the Uneb support personnel went to the school yesterday morning, the candidate was in the sick bay. Her situation however worsened, and she was taken to hospital. The school administration was shortly after that informed that the girl has passed on,” she added.

In a related development one of the candidates whose name has been withheld, gave birth to a baby girl on day four of the examinations. Kalule says that the student from a school around Kampala had already successfully completed her papers in the first three days.

“The candidate who had effectively written her papers on the first three days, did not have a paper on Day 4, and so had stayed home,” Kalule noted.

Accounts from the candidate’s parents indicate that on Thursday at around 1:30 pm, she began to experience labour pains, and her journey towards motherhood commenced. She was swiftly rushed to a local hospital, where she gave birth to a healthy baby girl at 4:00 pm. Kalule adds by Friday morning, the candidate had already shown up at the center to write her physics paper.

“We have cautioned the school not to disclose the identity of the candidate at this moment. She is already passing through a lot. Even media shouldn’t try to publish her, maybe they can follow up after papers are done upon getting permission from the parents,” Kalule added.

This is not the first instance of a candidate giving birth during an examination. In 2021, when schools were reopening after the prolonged and unprecedented COVID-19-induced closures, Uneb reported that six candidates had given birth during UCE examinations. These six candidates hailed from the northern and eastern districts.

Four candidates gave birth and were able to continue with their exams. One candidate, who unfortunately lost her baby after birth, was also able to proceed with the examinations.

Unlike previous practices where pregnant students were often excluded by schools, ministry of Education declared that such students should be given a second chance, and those who are physically able should be allowed to sit for their examinations.

Subsequently, the examination body has revised its policies, granting an additional 45 minutes to all expectant and breastfeeding candidates to complete their examination papers, recognizing their circumstances as impairments worthy of consideration.

Reports from various exam centers have also highlighted a trend in this year's UCE examinations. Suspected cases of malpractice have emerged during the practical papers for Chemistry and Biology.

Reports indicate that some candidates recorded experimental results without actually performing the experiments as required by the examination guidelines. Such actions constitute a clear violation of the rules and are indicative of examination malpractice. 

This year, a total of 364,421 candidates have been officially registered for these exams, and the examination period is scheduled to extend until November 17, 2023. - URN/The Observer