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Lira, Uganda | URN | A Primary 7 candidate has died after a motorcycle carrying three pupils to their Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) was involved in a road accident in Barr Sub-county, Lira District, on Tuesday morning.
The three pupils, from Begomery Primary School, were travelling on a motorcycle to Ober Primary School, where they were scheduled to sit their PLE papers, when a vehicle reportedly forced them off the road and into a trench. Lira District Inspector of Schools Patrick Olwit confirmed the incident and blamed the crash on the poor condition of the road and what he described as parental negligence.
The deceased has been identified as Joshua Okwir Kaka, who sustained serious injuries in the boda boda crash. He was rushed to the emergency unit at Lira Regional Referral Hospital, where he later died.
Two other candidates, Ogwang Joshua Oyugi and Kizito Elwa, also sustained injuries. Oyugi, who suffered injuries to the head and shoulders, is receiving treatment at Rapha Medical Clinic in Barr, while Elwa sustained minor injuries and returned to school to sit his examinations.
Olwit said the examinations had started and were progressing well, with only minor challenges reported. He also revealed that a candidate at another examination centre, who reportedly has a heart condition, collapsed in the examination room. However, the pupil received first aid and was able to continue writing the examination.
More than 90,000 pupils registered to sit this year’s PLE at 16,478 examination centres across the country. The examinations started on Tuesday morning, with candidates sitting Mathematics as the first paper.
