UNEB Considers Hike In Exam Fees

The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) is considering a hike in registration fees for candidates sitting national examinations.

The examination body assesses whether the current fees are sufficient to meet the rising cost of administering national examinations.

Dan Odongo, the UNEB Executive Director and secretary to the board, confirmed the discussions in an interview with our reporter on Tuesday afternoon.  

Odongo said the current fees have become increasingly inadequate as the cost of examination materials and other requirements continues to rise.

“There are several things that we want to effect, including increasing remuneration of people involved in management of the examinations, like scouts and invigilators, but we could not as we are limited on revenue,” he said.

Odongo said UNEB currently relies heavily on government funding to supplement the money collected from examination registration, but argued that a small and manageable adjustment in candidate fees would give the board more room to meet some of its operational needs.

“Currently, we rely a lot on releases from government, yet if a small, manageable amount is added to what is being paid, it can improve on the matter,” he said.

Under the current fee structure, Primary Seven candidates pay thirty-four thousand shillings, while Senior Four candidates pay one hundred and thirty-four thousand shillings and Senior Six candidates pay one hundred and eighty-six thousand shillings.

For private candidates, the fees are paid by parents or guardians, while the government meets the registration costs for candidates in the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme through releases to the board.

The proposed adjustment would therefore have different implications for families depending on the level of education and whether a learner is enrolled in a government-supported programme or sits as a private candidate.

UNEB last revised its registration rates in 2017, nearly a decade ago. The board adjusted fees for the different national examinations through a circular issued on April 4, 2017.

Odongo said the costs of running examinations have changed considerably since then, while the registration rates have remained largely unchanged.

“A lot has changed since 2017. The rates of materials used have increased amid other changes, but the rates have remained the same, affecting the board,” he said.

He said UNEB has held internal discussions on the issue for several years, but the board is now giving the proposal more serious consideration.

Odongo said the board is also looking at ways of improving revenue collection and stopping losses before any increase in registration fees is considered.

Meanwhile,  Odongo revealed that UNEB is moving to close revenue leakages after discovering cases where some headteachers in government schools allegedly register private candidates as government-sponsored candidates.

The practice denies UNEB fees which should have been paid by the parents or guardians of private candidates.

“We are going to investigate through our means, and once a head teacher is found doing this, first he will have to remit the examination fees of the candidates, but also be fined by paying a surcharge,” Odongo said.

He said UNEB would withhold results from examination centres involved in the practice until the outstanding fees and surcharges are paid.

Odongo said, the board could pursue criminal charges, arguing that deliberately misrepresenting candidates to avoid examination fees amounts to fraud under the UNEB Act and other relevant anti-corruption laws.

The proposed fee review and the crackdown on revenue leakages come as UNEB continues to administer the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) to hundreds of thousands of candidates each year.