By KT Reporter
Several schools across the country struggled to conduct Thursday’s Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) Physics practical examination due to a widespread shortage of 10cm focal lenses, a key apparatus required for the paper.
By Thursday evening, as all schools returned their papers to storage facilities, reports gathered by URN revealed that many teachers were forced to improvise, borrow, or use lenses that did not meet the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) specifications.
Interviews with science teachers and headteachers from different regions pointed to a nationwide challenge. Members of the Uganda Professional Science Teachers Union (UPSTU) also confirmed receiving similar reports from across the country. UPSTU spokesperson Ramathan Katende said many schools resorted to using 15cm or 20cm lenses instead of the specified 10cm type, documenting their adaptations in reports submitted to UNEB.
“Teachers were cornered. The only options were to borrow, improvise, or use whatever lenses were available,” Katende said. “The board is aware of what happened. This was a crisis. If teachers included explanations in their reports, it should be acceptable, since the exam is meant to assess competence. As long as learners demonstrated the required skills, that should be the focus.”
Katende noted that in Nakaseke District, some schools had to increase the number of shifts for the practical sessions due to limited apparatus. UNEB allows schools to conduct practicals in shifts, but he said this created severe time management challenges.
“If a school has 100 candidates and only ten lenses, that means ten shifts,” he explained. “It becomes nearly impossible to finish all sessions within a day. This has implications for the candidates’ performance.”
In Wakiso District, a teacher who preferred anonymity expressed frustration, suggesting that the inclusion of such a rare item in the examination raised concerns about potential commercial interests.
“One cannot help but wonder if someone influenced the setting of the question to benefit from selling the lenses,” the teacher said. “Prices shot up, yet many schools still failed to get what they needed.”
In Masaka, Daniel Isiko, Headteacher of Notredame Secondary School, Nyendo, said his school failed to acquire the required lenses and resorted to using improvised alternatives. He explained that UNEB’s instructions came on short notice, leaving schools with little time to mobilise funds or procure the right equipment.
“We usually rely on resource sharing with nearby schools, but that was impossible during examinations,” Isiko said. “Our teachers worked with local carpenters and technicians to assemble makeshift lenses so that candidates could at least complete the paper.”
In Kabale District, schools reported similar struggles. At Bwaama Island Secondary School, located in the middle of Lake Bunyonyi in Kitumba Sub-County, Headteacher Nicholas Mishamba said he searched several laboratory supply shops in Kabale Town and even attempted to order lenses from Kampala, but suppliers failed to meet the demand.
He eventually borrowed a few lenses from another school to enable his candidates to sit the practical exam. Mishamba noted that many students were unfamiliar with using focal lenses, which could affect their performance, and urged UNEB to design exams that do not depend on rare or hard-to-find equipment.
At Rukore High School in Ryakarimira Town Council, however, the exam proceeded smoothly. Headteacher Joseph Akankwasa said his school had purchased the required lenses earlier and that candidates were well-trained in handling the apparatus.
In Moroto District, Moroto High School adopted a shift system to manage its limited stock of physics apparatus. Headteacher Eric Sabila said the school has about 80 lenses, more than enough for its current enrolment, but noted that most of the equipment is decades old.
“Some of these lenses were bought in the 1980s and are still in use,” Sabila said. “We use shifts to ensure every student gets hands-on experience during practicals, even with limited resources.”
Moroto High School is one of the few government-aided institutions in the Karamoja sub-region offering A-Level science subjects. Sabila said many schools in the area struggle to provide adequate laboratory exposure due to high equipment costs and limited funding.
When contacted, UNEB officials blamed teachers for the shortage, insisting that the board release lists of required materials at least two months before exams. They argued that schools should plan and purchase apparatus in time instead of rushing at the last minute.
However, UPSTU dismissed this explanation as unrealistic. Katende said no school, whether government or private, can afford to buy every single item listed in the UNEB circular.
“Even those who buy cannot purchase every apparatus in large quantities,” he said. “A school may have ten or twenty lenses, but during exams, you need one for each candidate, or at least one for every two.”
Katende proposed that UNEB should release the circular on required practical materials much earlier to give schools and suppliers more time to source rare items. He added that one week is often not enough to find certain items. “If the list came earlier, equipment could even be imported where necessary.
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