The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has reported minimal cases of examination malpractice at the lower secondary level, with only 63 cases recorded, a development described as a positive indicator of integrity within the new assessment system.
According to UNEB Executive Secretary, Mr. Dan Odongo, the nature and design of the examination items under the Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) framework do not easily lend themselves to malpractice. He noted that the few cases reported were predominantly in Mathematics and practical papers in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.
“In these instances, there was overwhelming evidence that some candidates were provided with experimental results by teachers, which they merely copied into their tables,” Mr. Odongo explained.
He added that under the CBA framework, candidates are required to use given scenarios to design and conduct investigations using the provided apparatus. Where external assistance occurred, the investigation designs produced by candidates did not correspond with the recorded results, clearly indicating malpractice.
Mr. Odongo made the remarks as UNEB prepared to conduct the end-of-cycle assessment for the first cohort under the New Lower Secondary School Curriculum (NLSC), now more appropriately referred to as the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
He revealed that as preparations for the national rollout progressed, some education stakeholders had questioned whether learners under the new curriculum were indeed outperforming those from the old content-based system.
“On paper, the CBC was designed to nurture learners who demonstrate 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving—competencies that were largely absent in the previous curriculum,” Mr. Odongo said.
However, he acknowledged that four years into its implementation, there has been limited empirical evidence to conclusively confirm that learners are fully acquiring these competencies, despite observable signs of progress.
Mr. Odongo emphasized that the upcoming end-of-cycle assessment will provide a clearer picture of the effectiveness of the CBC in equipping learners with practical skills and competencies relevant to the modern world.
He reaffirmed UNEB’s commitment to maintaining examination integrity and ensuring that the assessment process reflects the true abilities of learners under the new curriculum.
