By Owen Odong
Gulu City, UG:- A total of 4,618 pupils in Gulu City are set to sit for the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) which begin on Thursday and Friday, in this year’s national examination by the Uganda National Examination Board.
Ms. Proscovia Aber, the inspector of schools in Gulu City said the 4,618 pupils from 81 Primary Schools are set to sit across 72 UNEB centers. Of the 81 primary schools, 41 are public and 40 are private schools.
She noted a serious decline in the number of pupils sitting this year to the previous year.
In the 2023 PLE, Ms Aber recalled that over 5,000 and this year only 4,618 registered, urging parents to support their children finish primary studies.
“We appeal to parents, to please support your child to finish school. Avoid overloading them with work during this period of examinations to allow them to concentrate” she appealed in an interview with Daily Express
According to the examination calendar released by UNEB, the national primary leaving examination starts on Thursday 7th, and ends on Friday 8th of November across the country. A total of 798,763 pupils will sit this year across 13,072 examinations.
On Thursday, November 7th pupils will start with the mathematics paper in the morning followed by Social Studies and Religious Education in the afternoon.
Mr. Peter Banya the Deputy Resident City Commissioner for Laroo Pece in Gulu City encouraged the candidates to be calm and avoid panicking during examination sessions, and to be confident that they will all pass the papers.
Mr Banya told DailyExpress in an interview Tuesday, assuring total sanity and security across all examination centres in Gulu City during this very important period of in lives of the learners.
“Primary Leaving Examination is the first step that starts shaping a child well to handle life with confidence without the fear of the future,” Mr Banya reiterated.
One of the teachers of primary seven pupils of Rooted Primary School in Gulu City, Mr Alex Okidi, is confident that they had enough time to prepare the candidates and hopeful, they will not panic.
“We have spent the whole year preparing these pupils to sit for examinations and we hope for the best. But at times some pupils may panic and end up failing or misinterpreting the questions,” he said.
Vivian Adong, a pupil of Kasubi Army Primary School, told our reporter during a briefing at their school, that she is ready for the examinations and has been reading enough to ensure that she gets good grades.
Meanwhile, the Headteachers of Pece Primary School, Mrs. Santa Akullu Oketa said her teaching staff have put enough effort into building confidence in the learners to avoid panicking and rushing to answers as earlier reported by UNEB in the previous examinations.
Mr. Banya however cautioned parents to be very close to their children soon after the examinations are done because some children might use their opportunity to connect to bad peers to cause havoc in the city, something security will not tolerate.
“Pick back your children from schools after the examinations, and continue teaching them the discipline teachers taught them from schools,” he advised, adding that any that will be left to roam the city causing crimes will be dealt with accordingly.
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