The first lady Mama Janet Kataha Museveni has a track record for being one of the most hardworking, empathetic and result oriented person.
While taking over office, the former Ntungamo lawmaker revealed how she had come to transform the education, a spirit that has overtime been depicted as she solves grievances at different public institutions and other ministry agencies.
However the mess at the Uganda business and Technical examinations board (UBTEB) has overtime become hard to believe as the agency continues to cripple and violating employee rights a move that the central government doesn’t accept. This has left us wondering whether the officials at UBTEB are trying to fight the Minister of education or they are obsessed with corruption and remorseless acts.
It’s shocking that On 17th June 2020 UBTEB released national exams of Nov/Dec 2019, without paying thousands of people who participated in their activities of setting (writing items) in august 2019, moderation in September 2019, supervision in Nov/Dec 2019, and marking them in January 2020
Uganda business and Technical examinations board(UBTEB) is a national examinations body that is mandated to streamline, regulate, coordinate and conduct credible national exams and awards diplomas and certificates in business, technical and vocational or specialized education or training institutions in Uganda.
Key areas where the board engages many people from various institutions and community;
(i) Item writing/setting
(ii) Moderation
(iii)Supervision
(iv) Marking
(v) Checking
The board appoints;
- Item writers
- Modulators
- Supervisors
- Marking examiners
- Checkers
Duties/roles
- Item writers
These develop test items (set questions) for both theory and practical examinations
- Moderators
These are senior people who are appointed to check the test items/questions in order to ensure that;
(i) They do not have both grammatical and spelling errors
(ii) They have been developed to expected standards and levels
(iii) They adequately cover the syllabus
(iv) The marking guides Match with the test item
- Examiners
An examiner is a person trained and qualified in any of the areas examinable by the board and such a person must be registered and practicing teacher, instructor, lecturer or any other professional
These mark examinations as may be assigned by the board
- Supervisors
The board appoints at least two examinations supervisors to supervise at least thirty candidates (30) candidates for both practical and theory. These lookout for any signs of malpractice including communication among candidates.
- Checkers
These are appointed at the marking centres to check for;
(i) Un marked work
(ii) Wrong totalling, and send scripts back to examiners for correction
Sources of funds for UBTEB activities;
(i) Candidates’ examination registration fees
(ii) Government grants
Major concern: non-payment of the major activities
More than 2000 people are appointed to carry out the above activities but the board has managed to clear a few checkers, and practical examiners
Setting exams (item writing), supervision of theory exams, and marking theory exams, which involves a greater number of people have not been paid.
At the opening ceremony of the marking exercise of the Nov/Dec 2019 exams which took place in January 2020 at fisheries, Reparatrix Senior Secondary, and lands training institutes Entebbe, the UBTEB executive secretary promised that the board was to clear every debt before end of January 2020, but it was unfortunate that this was not effected at all up to date
The executive secretary said that the delay was from government, which gives the board money in quarters. But what is amazing is that, setting exams was in august 2019 (which is with in the first quarter of the financial year of the claimed government funding) not paid, supervision was in November /Dec 2019 a second quarter of the year again not paid, marking was in January 2020 third quarter of the year.
It’s amazing that the organization runs without money from the government, but we are sure that candidates’ registration was got, as no candidate is permitted to sit exams without clearing the registration dues.
We have been reliably informed that top officials at this agency are found misusing funds where it’s alleged that money is transferred from the institution’s account and deposited on some officials individual bank accounts to enable them get bank interests at the expense of poor Ugandans demanding their pay.
Many instructors, teachers, lecturers and more so from private institutions are now in a very bad financial shape, but this organization has not taken any help to pay these workers, in order to pass through the covid-19 Quarantine period, and wonder whether the funds for the cause have been embezzled and are asking for president Museven’s intervention in the matter.
It should be noted that other examination agencies like UNEB and UNMEB, all their payments are made less than a month after work has been executed yet all of them get huge chunks of money from government to facilitate these activities.
Who Is Eating Tutors Money?
Written By
Concerned Citizen
