Bundibugyo: Teachers disguised as cooks and cleaners were caught helping pupils cheat during the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) at Busalu Primary School in Bundibugyo District.
According to a Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) report shared on Monday, spokesperson Jennifer Kalule-Musamba revealed that scouts discovered sanitary pads stuffed with answer sheets after some girls pretended to be on their periods. The suspects reportedly fled the scene when they were discovered.
“At Busalu Primary School, teachers were disguised as cooks and cleaners and were assisting candidates who kept on going to the toilets. The girls claimed to be in their periods, but when the scouts went to the toilets, she found clean pads with papers of answers inserted inside the pads. When the UNEB covert security personnel caught up with the disguised cooks, they all run away. The police is following up closely,” Kalule-Musamba said.
Primary Seven pupils across Uganda kicked off the PLE 2025 examinations on Monday, with UNEB confirming 817,885 candidates ( 52% girls and 48% boys), a 2.5% increase from last year. Of these, 64% are from Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools and 36% from private schools, while 61 inmates from Upper Prison School Luzira are also participating.
Learners began with Mathematics in the morning and continued with Social Studies and Religious Education in the afternoon. The exams are taking place at 16,140 centres nationwide. According to Kalule-Musamba, the first day of examinations was largely successful across the country, with no major administrative difficulties reported.
“The weather was good in most parts of the country, except in a few places where the rains disrupted the distribution of the papers from the stations to the schools, leading to a late start in those few cases,” she said.
She noted, however, that despite the smooth start, some schools appear to be finding new ways to beat the system as UNEB tightens security against malpractice and examination leaks.
“A number of schools seem to have resorted to compromising scouts and invigilators to allow them assist candidates during the examination. This is in form of external assistance. In some of these cases, those involved have been arrested by police as investigations continue, while others are reported to be on the run,” she explained.
