The National Examinations Board in close partnership with the National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA) has announced they are going to roll out registration of all learners in secondary schools across the country.
Addressing the media at the Media Center in Kampala on Tuesday, Dr. Peter P. Wakabi-Waiswa, UNEB’s director of technology and reprographics said this is aimed at ensuring continuous collection of assessment scores beginning in term one of 2023.
Dr. Waiswa said this is in line with the revised lower secondary school curriculum in a bid to have all secondary schools registered with UNEB to be able to submit the CA scores of their learners.
“Earlier the ministry rolled out a revised Lower Secondary School curriculum in 2020 and one of the major components of the revised curriculum is CA/ School based assessment. The first group of learners of this curriculum is joining S.3 2023.”
He said learners without CA components will not be graded in the subjects by UNEB at the end of the cycle completing the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE).
He said the secondary schools which will not have registered for CA will not be allowed to register their learners for final exams.
“UNEB will communicate to schools on the modalities of submitting the CA scores and the body will also uniquely identify learners during the process of CA , necessitating learners’ NINs,” Waiswa said schools without UNEB CA centres numbers will be required to apply for them accordingly.
“So we encourage learners in secondary schools to maximize the remaining holiday days to know their NIN registration status,” Waiswa added.
On their side, Rosemary Kisembo the NIRA Executive Director said they are priotising registering and issuing of NINs to all learners countrywide. She said the authority will set up registration desks at Boma grounds across major cities countrywide to have the whole process conducted smoothly.
Kisembo however, raised the registration should not only be limited to students. She said it is important that all Ugandan citzens obtain a NIN because it serves a variety of purposes.
“Everyone must register even beyond schooling, it is the special number that will accompany you all the way to death. It is a special number that will be utilized by all aspects of your life, including employment, education, health, and travel. Students should take advantage of this break to register and receive NINs,” Kisembo added.