Kampala, Uganda: The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) is investigating a mix-up after candidates sitting the ongoing 2025 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations were issued a 2024 examination paper in one of the centres on Tuesday morning.
The incident, which caused confusion among candidates and supervisors, occurred during the scheduled exam for Economics Paper 2, which was labelled 2024 instead of 2025. When learners discovered that the paper they had been given bore 2024 as the examination year instead of 2025, UNEB officials were immediately alerted, but the supervisors and head teachers were directed to inform candidates that the paper remained valid.
“Please take note that the year should read 2025 and not 2024 as indicated on the examination paper. Candidates should proceed with the examination,” read a statement issued by the Board to field officials.
According to preliminary reports from the field, the error was linked to a packaging and distribution mistake that saw old stock exam materials mixed with the new 2025 batch.
UNEB spokesperson Jennifer Kalule confirmed the incident and said the Board had dispatched a team to the school to establish what went wrong and ensure the integrity of the examination process is not compromised.
“You can check last year’s paper. It is totally different from this one. The year was an error,” Kalule said, adding: “We understand the outrage because the public holds us in high regard, and rightly so. UNEB is committed to transparency and excellence, and we are reviewing our processes to ensure this does not happen again.”
According to Kalule, all exams remain valid and no candidate will be affected by the misprint. All answer scripts will eventually be marked according to standard procedures, according to UNEB.
The Board has also assured the public that the error does not constitute a leak or malpractice but rather a logistical oversight that is being corrected.
More than 110,000 candidates are currently sitting for the 2025 UACE exams across the country, which entered their second week today.
UNEB has faced increasing scrutiny over the management and security of national examinations, with this latest incident raising fresh questions about its packaging and distribution systems.
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