Twelve inmates at Mbarara Main Prison have joined more than 430,000 candidates across the country in sitting for this year's Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations.

According to Winnie Musanyana, the head teacher of Mbarara Main Prison Secondary School, this year's number has increased from 11 candidates last year.

She said all the inmate candidates have been adequately prepared to sit the examinations.

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"This year we have 12 inmates sitting for UCE compared to last year's 11. All our candidates have been well prepared," Musanyana said.

"Given that this is the second cohort under the new lower secondary curriculum, teachers have had ample time to master the required skills and deliver effectively."

The school currently has an enrollment of 94 students across both secondary and primary levels. Inmates are taught by fellow prisoners who serve as peer instructors, supported by 13 privately hired teachers who help in delivering lessons.

Musanyana expressed optimism that this year's performance would surpass that of the previous year, saying the learners are now familiar with the new curriculum's question formats and expectations.

According to Anatoli Biryomumaisho Owakubaruho, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Formal Education at the Uganda Prisons Service, the prison education programme is aimed at rehabilitation, transformation, and reintegration of inmates back into society.

"Anyone can become a prisoner, but being in prison is not the end of life unless it's a death sentence," Biryomumaisho said.

"We educate inmates to rehabilitate, transform, and reform them so that they can reintegrate into society after discharge. Our follow-up studies show that 98 percent of our former inmate students remain reformed within the first three years and for the rest of their lives thereafter."

This year's UCE examinations began nationwide with Geography Paper One and Biology Paper One.