UNEB warns against inflating fees, turning away pregnant girls as registration of candidates starts

The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has commenced registration of candidates today for the next five weeks ahead of the national examinations.

According to a statement from UNEB, late registration will not be tolerated and thus schools are urged to ensure their students are registered within the given time frame.

The registration fees have not been increased and the structure remains; Shs34,000 for PLE, Shs164,000 for UCE, and Shs186,000 for UACE.

UNEB has warned against the increment of registration fees by headteachers.

“Any additional charges that the school would like to make for administrative purposes should be clearly explained to the parents and must not in any way, be referred to as UNEB fees/registration,” a statement from UNEB Executive Secretary Dan Odongo states.

He called upon parents to be vigilant and not be exploited by the schools under the guise of UNEB registration fees.

Pregnant learners

Odongo was particular on the registration of pregnant learners despite the Board being against teenage pregnancy.

“UNEB recognizes that the lockdown due to COVID-19 has been a very tough period, especially for the girl child. We have received reports that a number of them became pregnant during this season,” he said.

“While we do not condone teenage pregnancy, we recognize that most of these girls are victims of circumstances, holding unintended pregnancies. Most of them are traumatized and denying them the opportunity to sit their final examinations would be double jeopardy,” he added.

He said that turning away pregnant girls would derail the gains of gender inclusiveness attained so far in reducing the disparity between girls and boys finishing an academic cycle.

“Therefore as guided by the ministry of education and sports, UNEB is calling on schools to register the pregnant girls to enable them to sit for their final examinations,” he said.