The Minister for Education and Sports Janet Kataha Museveni has directed the Uganda National Examinations Board(UNEB) to set a paper for 23 candidates who missed exam.
The learners from St. Catherine Primary school in Kakumiro district were turned away after they arrived one hour into the Primary Leaving Education (PLE) Mathematics paper on November 08.
The that they arrived late at the examination center in Mpasaana Primary school because the school Director identified as Pascal Senvuvu failed to provide for them transport, causing them to walk a long distance of 15 kilometers to the school for their first paper.
Senvuvu has since been on the run with his phones switched off and efforts to locate him are still ongoing.
Despite pleas from District authorities in Kakumiro to the UNEB leadership to set an alternative paper for the aggrieved learners, nothing happened.
Jennifer Kalule, the UNEB spokesperson told the media that the candidates would only be graded fro the papers they sat for that include SST, Science and English, but get an x for the missed mathematics paper which is as good as a dead year.
She explained that much as investigations had commenced into the incident, as part of the rules and regulations for candidates doing final examinations, any candidate who showed up fifteen minutes into a paper would miss it.
However, in a statement released by the UNEB Executive Secretary Dan Odongo, the candidates will be allowed to sit the paper. He says after consultations, considering the circumstances under which the paper was missed, they decided to set a special paper for them.
Odongo says UNEB officials will inform the Kakumiro District Education Officer of the time and place when the paper will be done.