Dr. Asuman Lukwago, Secretary of the Education Service Commission, has condemned the assessment test administered by Ignatius Koomu Kiwanuka, the LCV Chairperson of Nakaseke District, to P7 teachers in March 2024. This test followed the district’s poor performance in the 2023 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE).
The test results showed that Mathematics was the worst-performed subject, with seven out of nine teachers failing to achieve 50%, and the lowest score being 27% while the best scored 92%.
Speaking before the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), Dr. Lukwago described the test as irregular and inconsistent with standard examination practices. He noted that the Commission aligns with the Ministry of Education’s stance and clarified that despite the Commission’s primary responsibility pertaining to secondary and tertiary education, it does maintain a supervisory role over the primary education system.
“These weren’t interviews but classroom exams, which were irregular and unusual,” Lukwago said, emphasizing that proper exam protocols require candidates to be notified in advance.
Dr. Lukwago argued that the results from Nakaseke cannot reliably assess the quality of teachers. “The outcome of the examination isn’t reliable until we understand the standards used,” he stated. He warned against setting exams without proper qualifications and noted the potential for deliberately difficult tests.
“Examinations aren’t reliable until we understand the standards that were used. They are set by people who are qualified to set them. So if you set examinations just because you want to prove, you can set difficult examinations. The rules of the examinations is that you have to alert the candidate.” he explained
Reflecting on the fairness of the process, Dr. Lukwago remarked, “Education shouldn’t be like an ambush; it should be a conventional process. Even highly qualified professionals can struggle with exams if they are unexpected. While the situation was unfair, it also provides an opportunity for learning.”
“You can invite these lawyers and say we want you to do this exam today, even if you bring them the exam from Law Development Centre which they passed, sometimes, the failure rate may be higher than when they did those exams. So for sure, it wasn’t fair but humans can also learn from unfair situations,” added Dr. Lukwago.
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