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The Education Ministry recently appointed 157 new secondary school head teachers and 594 deputy head teachers. The State minister for higher education has asked the newly appointed secondary school head teachers to spearhead the war against corruption in the schools they will be leading. Speaking at the start of a two day induction of newly appointed head teachers at Kitante hill secondary school, Kampala, he challenged teachers to be honest and prudently manage resources at their disposal.

When the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) released the exam timetables on Monday, it also addressed a troubling question: how to stem the rampant examination malpractices. In a statement, Uneb urged all candidates to report directly to the board any invigilator, teacher or head teacher and other candidates involved in examination malpractice. The Uneb executive secretary stated that “The board reserves the right to declare publicly names of centres, candidates or anyone else who will have involved themselves in examination malpractice”.

A total of 4,827 'ghost' pupils have been identified in Sengerema and Buchosa districts following a special audit. According to the Sengerema District Commissioner a total of 41 head teachers have been suspended in connection to the investigation. 710 of the pupils come from Sengerema district while 4,117 pupils were identified from Buchosa. The Sengerema District Education officer said his office will conduct frequent inspections to identify ghost students.

The Rukwa Region has identified 2,408 students from public primary and secondary schools as ghost students following the recent verifications. The Rukwa Region Commissioner (RC), briefed the Prime Minister from the regional development reports in Namanyere Town , Nkasi District. The premier was further told that Rukwa Region continued to put into action the directives of the President by undertaking thorough verification of phantom students in all public primary and secondary schools in the region.

In Algeria the gendarmerie carried out ‘tens of arrests’ for fraud by officials, teachers and heads of some exam centres. Papers had been leaked via social networks, through more than 150 Facebook accounts, which had enabled the police to identify and arrest perpetrators. Meanwhile, 53 people have been arrested in a number of towns in Morocco for their alleged involvement in baccalauréat fraud. The arrests concerned 22 administrators of social network chat pages and sites for facilitating exam paper leaks and answers in return for money

The online disclosure of college admittance high-school exams has led to nationwide disruptions in Egypt and Algeria. Despite vows by authorities to make sure tests are secure, exam questions have been leaked prior to exam administration in both countries for several years. An October decree by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for prison sentences for unauthorized disclosure of testing materials. But that decrees has failed to deter a cluster of Facebook groups that have leaked exam questions.

The Education Minister has threatened to use Article 44 of the interim constitution in tackling many ugly problems in the country's higher-education sector. Several private and state universities have operated programmes recently without proper permission. The latest scandal surrounds Bangkok Thonburi University (BTU). Though permitted to run a master's degree programme in educational management for 500 graduate students each year, the university has recruited 2,500 students to its programmes annually.

The Education Service Commission (ESC) has warned school heads about a ring of conmen who solicit money from schools, in exchange for jobs. This follows an ESC advertisement for 221 head teachers and 593 deputy head teachers in April. According to the ESC chairperson “Some unscrupulous people have been sending messages to unsuspecting applicants requesting for money to be shortlisted but all services by the ESC are free of charge.” All successful applicants have been shortlisted on the ESC notice board and website and no unsuccessful candidates should think that they can buy their way onto the shortlist.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) launched a report on the Free Primary Education (FPE) programme, after the Ministry of Education revealed that most schools cannot account for the funds. According to the EACC Chief Executive Officer, the report will help in ensuring accountability in public schools, given that heads of schools will be required to detail how every shilling allocated by the government is spent.

The Education Cabinet Secretary brushed off critics of the new measures he announced on Wednesday and announced that he will set aside all his ministerial duties in November to go around the country and monitor how the national examinations will be conducted. The secretary, known for his impromptu visits to schools which have put many headteachers on the spot, on Friday said his November 4 to 30 diary had been cleared to ensure he visits schools countrywide. He said there were many other measures the ministry has in the pipeline to stem examination cheating, including the use of technology.