In the media

In Kampala, Uganda, police arrested a director of studies and three teachers for allegedly sharing fake Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) papers via a WhatsApp group. The suspects falsely claimed to access the papers from the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) and added other teachers to the group chat. UNEB warned of severe penalties for exam malpractice, PLE exams involving 798,771 candidates. They all face a fine of shs40 million and 10 years of imprisonment.

In Uganda, education officers face charges of abuse of office for diverting capitation grants originally used to purchase school materials. The penalty is up to 7 years in jail and a fine of Sh3.6 million (Kenyan shillings). This case highlights issues of mismanagement and misdirection in the allocation of educational funds.

Corruption compromises the quality and accessibility of education services in Uganda. Several institutions have reported cases of embezzlement, abuse of office, bribery estimated to be up to sh39.1b, ghost workers, absenteeism, sh1.5 trillion, and embezzlement sh244b. By supporting whistle-blowers and protecting their rights, creating more awareness programs that promote citizen empowerment, strong partnerships are built in the fight against corruption.

A recent surge in examination malpractice cases in Uganda, encompassing 25 reported incidents within the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) and Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), has prompted police investigations. Among these cases, 10 pertain to UCE, while 15 are associated with PLE. While some suspects have been granted police bond during ongoing inquiries, the Kisugu High School's director faces serious charges under the UNEB Act for unlawfully confining candidates and disrupting an examination.

The Ministry of Education has suspended the recruitment and transfer of new staff in all government schools until a national public service payroll audit is completed. Teachers will have to be physically verified by the office of the Auditor General and those absent will not be counted. The Education Service Commission said that in October 2022 the government payroll had over 1, 000 ghost teachers.

To prevent the forging of information, a new digital platform will allow learners from primary to university levels to have an identification number. Schools will update data about their learners, teaching and non-teaching staff, infrastructure and facilities including physical education and sports through their online EMIS user accounts. The new system is aimed to eliminate ghost workers and improve transparency and accountability across the country.

Women and girl child rights activists are calling for tougher and broader sexual harassment guidelines at institutions of higher learning in Uganda to avert cases of lecturers and other university administrators taking advantage of the students they teach. After indecently assaulted a student in 2018, a former administrator at Makerere University has been sentenced to only two years in prison or he has the option to pay a fine of UGX4 million (US$1,080). The 2019 Annual Police Crime Report for Uganda tallied sexual violence-related cases, including assault and rape, at 1,528.

Three teachers were placed in prison for conspiracy and examination malpractice. They disobeyed the Uganda Examinations Board’ code of conduct and revealed the content of the 2018 Primary Leaving Examinations paper and then sold them to different schools in Buyende and Kamuli districts.

Mbarara High School headteacher and his bursar are charged with three counts of embezzlement, causing financial loss and abuse of office. The two appeared before the Anti-Corruption court in Kampala and were accused of failing to account for Shs 207 million school money.

Makerere University Council has approved the revised anti-sexual harassment policy aimed at eliminating the rampant sexual abuse at the institution. The University Vice-Chancellor said that the policy requires lecturers and all staff to declare any relationship they have with their students. He added: "If cases are reported to people and they sit on them, they will be liable to sanctions.