Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) officials have refuted allegations circulating on social media suggesting that their grading system is biased.
Mr. Dan Odongo, the board’s executive secretary, dismissed claims that Uneb’s grading is selective and that candidates’ scripts can be easily accessed. He labeled these messages as false and urged the public to disregard them.
Mr. Odongo emphasized that access to candidates’ scripts is tightly restricted with stringent security measures in place due to the sensitivity and complexity of the materials. Anyone claiming to have seen their child’s scripts and raw marks is spreading misinformation, he stated.
He assured the public that Uneb’s grading system is uniform and aligned with quality assurance procedures, without discrimination of any kind.
Addressing allegations of unfair advantage for certain candidates, Mr. Odongo condemned such claims as malicious propaganda, emphasizing that they do not apply to the recently released 2023 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) results.
Uneb clarified that the author of the original message, which sparked the controversy, confirmed that it was written in 2018 and shared on a forum, with subsequent screenshots circulating on social media. The author’s daughter is reportedly studying in an international system equivalent to Senior Five.
Established in 1983 by an act of Parliament, Uneb serves as Uganda’s national assessment body.
The statement came in response to social media claims suggesting biased grading in national exams, with examples cited of alleged disparities in scores between students from different regions and schools.
