13 June 2007
Kampala — THE Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has opened its own printery at Kyambogo in a bid to curb examination malpractices. According to UNEB's new strategy, when printing is in progress, the printers will keep around for the entire period and stay in dormitories until the exercise is over.
This is a good move because cheating has become rampant in our educational institutions. With more tough measures in place, those interested in making quick money through examination malpractices might be discouraged.
However, there are several issues to consider. First, as the chairman of UNEB, Prof Lutalo Bossa, admits, every year there are new sophisticated methods of cheating and no culprits have been brought to book.
Confining the printers at Kyambogo seems to be an admission that there is an integrity problem within UNEB. That is why examinations leak.
The people involved in the setting and supervision of the examinations are professional teachers and therefore, it is not necessary to carry physical examination papers in order to cheat. There is a time lag between the time the examinations are printed and when candidates do the exams.
Apart from confining the printers at Kyambogo, it will be important for UNEB to ensure that there is as little time as possible between the time the printing ends and when the examinations begin. That calls for a very efficient transport system and reliable power supply like a stand-by generator.
It also means that the printing should take place as late as possible so as to deny cheats a chance to organise any strategy.
Cheats should not be handled with kid gloves. Those caught should be prosecuted and severely punished. Offenders should publicly be exposed as was done some time back in the U.S. to fight corruption. Above all, it is essential to establish who is who within UNEB ranks as integrity is the most vital virtue in preventing examination malpractices.
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