Background of Uganda National Examination Board UNEB
The Uganda National Examinations Board is the national assessment body in Uganda. The UNEB Secretariat is headed by the Executive Secretary, who is the Chief Executive head and the accounting officer of the Board. Under the Executive Secretary, there are seven departments, each headed by a Deputy Secretary.
The work of UNEB is unique and specialized in its own way, and as such, it is handled by people of a very high degree of integrity, who are carefully appointed by the Board.
UNEB as a public organization always welcomes members of the public and the various stakeholders. UNEB’s strives to maintain fair assessment in a bid to produce valid and reliable results. It is in this vein that we always invite everybody to help in the fight against malpractice.
The mandate of the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports (MoESTS) is to provide quality Education and sports services in the country, which are constitutional obligations for the Ugandan State and Government therefore,
The Mission of the MoESTS is “to provide technical support, guide, coordinate, regulate and promote quality education, training and sports to all persons in Uganda for national integration, development and individual advancement.”
The Vision for MoESTS is “Quality and appropriate Education and Sports services, for all”
The Education and Sports sector therefore is one of the country’s key social service delivery sectors because it delivers critical government programmes such as Universal Primary Education (UPE), Universal Post Primary Education and Training (UPPET) as well as sports for enhancing citizens; wellness / health, productivity and the country’s image.
The Ministry comprises of 11 Departments headed by the Permanent Secretary, Directors and Commissioners. These Departments under four Directorates are Directorate of Basic and Secondary Education, Directorate of Higher, Technical, Vocational Education and Training, Directorate of Education Standards and the Directorate of Industrial Training. There are also affiliated institutions as Education Service Commission, Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB), and other examination bodies including Uganda Business and Technical Examination Board, Uganda Allied Health Examination Board, Uganda Nurses and Midwives Examination Board, National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), National Council of Sports, and Uganda National Commission for UNESCO (UNATCOM) etc.
The sector is run on a principle of promoting Public – Private Partnerships at all levels and the Private sector has played significant roles in provision of Education services especially at the post primary and tertiary education levels.
According to the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) 2004 – 2015, the implementation of the UPE Policy of free tuition at primary school level since 1997 has had two important effects on enrollments:
- It has increased enrollment of children from poor households and significantly reduced the poverty gap in terms of access to primary education and
- The effect of increased enrollment has been particularly beneficial for girls who saw a higher increase in enrollment relative to boys.
Following the launch of Universal Primary Education in 1997, enrollment increased from over two million pupils to the current almost eight million. To address challenges of transition to post primary education, the Universal Post Primary Education and Training (UPPET) programme was launched in February 2007 making Uganda the first country in Africa to provide free education at this level. Consequently, enrollment grew rapidly.
The Government is also concurrently exploring options for revitalization and or strengthening Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to provide demands driven skills under the encapsulating them of ‘Skilling Uganda’.