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Kampala, Uganda | URN | The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has clarified its decision to extend the duration of the History and Political Education papers at the ongoing Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations.
UNEB sent a circular to schools on Monday indicating that the paper’s duration had been extended by 15 minutes, from 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes.
By Tuesday morning, when candidates sat the examination, the board had not issued a public explanation, although it confirmed the authenticity of the circular.
However, after the paper had been written, UNEB spokesperson Jennifer Kalule-Musamba finally responded to the matter.
She explained that the adjustment followed feedback from pre-tests the board conducted across the country. Both learners and teachers had raised concerns that the original time allocation was insufficient.
Kalule-Musamba said the issue had earlier been presented to the UNEB board, which reviewed the feedback and approved the extra 15 minutes. The decision was taken after the official timetable had already been printed and released.
However, because the question papers had not yet been printed, UNEB was able to indicate the revised duration of 2 hours 30 minutes on the actual papers.
UNEB has routinely conducted pre-tests of examination items with learners, teachers and other stakeholders in different parts of the country.
The exercise is intended to identify and address practical issues, including time allocation, before final papers are administered.
Meanwhile, a candidate at Light Secondary School in Soroti gave birth to a baby boy during the morning English paper.
The delivery was reported to have been safe, and the student was able to continue with her remaining examinations.
The incident adds to a growing number of cases in which pregnant candidates have given birth while sitting for the examination.
The trend became more pronounced after the Covid-19 pandemic, when prolonged school closures contributed to a rise in teenage pregnancies among learners who later returned to sit national examinations. Education authorities and schools have generally supported such candidates to complete their papers where medically possible.
UNEB reported that the second day of examinations proceeded largely smoothly, with no major incidents or disruptions of the kind recorded on the first day. Candidates have so far completed four examination papers.
On Wednesday, candidates are scheduled to sit Geography Paper 1 in the morning and Biology Paper 1 (or General Science – Biology for Special Needs Education learners) in the afternoon.
