By KT Reporter
Police have arrested three teachers over alleged Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) malpractice in Kisoro District, in a widening crackdown on examination fraud across the country. The latest suspect, Michael Begumisa, 38, a teacher at Kashenyi Primary School in Ntungamo District, was arrested on Tuesday at around 9:00 a.m. while in possession of PLE Science paper answers on a smartphone through WhatsApp messages.
According to Gordon Asizua, the Senior Inspector of Schools from the Directorate of Education Standards, Ministry of Education and Sports, who was monitoring PLE in Kisoro District, Begumisa was found with the materials while serving as a UNEB scout at St. Allens Primary School.
The messages on his phone reportedly contained Science paper answers ranging from the first question to the last, received two hours before the official examination time. Asizua immediately alerted police, leading to Begumisa’s arrest. Elly Maate, the Kigezi Region Police Spokesperson, confirmed the arrest, saying Begumisa is currently detained at Kisoro Police Station as investigations continue.
Maate said the suspect’s phone was recovered, exhibited, and will be subjected to forensic analysis to establish the origin of the examination content and trace other individuals involved. On Monday, two other teachers — Bernard Katabire, 41, an invigilator at Real Quality Primary School, and Samuel Baker Munyantwari, 52, the head teacher of Seseme Primary School — were also arrested in Kisoro over malpractice.
The incident occurred during the Mathematics paper when George Kisakye, a Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) scout, entered examination room four, where Katabire was supervising. Kisakye reportedly noticed Katabire holding some papers suspiciously and, upon inspection, found a photocopied answer sheet containing solutions to questions 31 and 32 of the Mathematics exam.
The scout immediately informed head teacher Munyantwari and the police officer stationed at the center. Both Katabire and Munyantwari were promptly arrested. In a related case, police in Mityana District have also arrested two teachers involved in PLE malpractice. According to Wamala Region Police SpokespersonRacheal Kawala, the suspects are Jennifer Nakivumbi, the director of Top Hill Infant Primary School, and Esther Nambuusi, the head teacher of Naama DAS Primary School.
It is alleged that three schools — Top Hill Infant, Naama DAS, and St. Peter’s Primary — share one examination center number. Kawala said the two were reportedly found within 10 meters of the examination center with materials described by a UNEB scout as examination content, including a paper containing answers to the Science paper.
Kawala added that the Deputy Head Teacher of Naama DAS Primary School, Kibuuka Esau, was found writing on a piece of paper suspected to contain answers to the current examination. When informed that police had been alerted, he fled the scene.
Kawala further reported another incident in Mubende District, where the Director of Pioneer Junior School, Richard Maseruka, was found with a phone containing what are believed to be all the ongoing PLE question papers and answers. She said Maseruka had taken his children to Eden Primary School in Kanseera Village, Mubende Municipality, to sit their exams when a UNEB scout discovered the alleged materials on his phone.
Kawala said police rushed to the school, but Maseruka had already fled. She urged members of the public to provide any information that could lead to his arrest. Authorities have strongly condemned the acts of examination malpractice and affirmed that the law will take its course against all those found culpable.
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