The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has confirmed that so far, they have registered six live births by candidate mothers, one of them having delivered over the weekend.
These are among the hundreds of learners who conceived during the long holiday that started with the closure of schools which was effected in March 2020, as one of the measures taken by the government to control the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.
The UNEB Senior Principal Communication Officer, Juliet Kalule noted that out of the six, one got a stillbirth but also managed to return and continue with her exams.
She said there are several other young breastfeeding mothers who leave their babies home to sit for the exams, while others move with caretakers who look after their babies as they write their exams.
The government accepted the registration of young pregnant learners to write their exams. This mainly applied to those who had got pregnant during the closure of schools following a one-year COVID-19 lockdown.
According to the police report, about 6,000 girls were impregnated in the first six months of the lockdown.
While addressing journalists at the police’s weekly press briefing in Kampala, Kalule urged learners to avoid getting into such a mess.
She also noted that they have recorded very few scattered cases of alleged malpractice since examinations started.
Without mentioning names, Kalule said some candidates were caught smuggling unauthorized material during the chemistry practical exam.
Kalule said two other people were arrested selling fake examination papers while one candidate was rescued as he attempted to commit suicide after the Mathematics exam in West Nile and was rushed to the hospital where he is still getting treatment.
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