Senior four students have today commenced their Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) UNEB exams 2022 at their respective centres countrywide.

The students started with mathematics paper one and paper two.

In Kazo district, exams have started very well and a section of students in some schools told our reporter that their first paper, which was Mathematic paper one gave them confidence that they will perform well.

The students also noted that their exams were not tampered with and their invigilators were very professional.

At St Catherine Girls’ Sec school, 99 students were registered and all sat for the final examination according to Proscovia Kyomugisha, the headmistress while at Kazo modern high school, 33 students were registered and all sat for their final examinations according to Katureebe Godfrey, the head teacher.

In Mbarara, Simon Twinamastiko, the area supervisor Biharwe sub-county headquarters UNEB station intimated to our reporter that the examinations have been successfully conducted without any incident registered on the first day.

Twinamastiko noted that it’s only at Rugasha mixed school where only two students failed to sit for the exams due to withdrawal.

Biharwe sub-county headquarters UNEB station caters for 6 schools including; Rwansinga High School, Esteri Memorial Kokundeka School, St Paul Biharwe, Kashari High School, Mbarara Girls and Rugasha Mixed School.

Speaking to our reporter, Francis Turyaheebwa Kagaanda, the head teacher of Rwansinga High School appreciated the parents and teachers for doing all that it takes to ensure that the students are ready to sit for exams.

A section of senior four students at Rwansinga high school in Rubaya sub-county, Mbarara district who talked to our reporter after their first day of exams noted they hope to pass the exams because they covered the entire syllabus with their teachers.

Rwansinga high school registered 112 students with 58 females and 54 males who all sat for the 2022 UCE examinations.

In Bushenyi district, St Kaggwa Bushenyi high school, 97 students were registered and they all sat for their final examinations according to the school head teacher, Posy Kamugisha.

Kamugisha said that students were well prepared and despite the challenges faced during the covid-19 pandemic where students were directly promoted, the school managed to finish the syllabus.

At Bweranyangi Girls’ sec school, 339 students were registered and they all sat for the final examinations according to Juliet Muzoora, the headmistress.

At pioneer high school Bushenyi, the school registered 45 students and they all sat for their examination according to Pison Turyamureeba, the head teacher.

According to Jenifer Kalule Musamba, the UNEB spokesperson, a total of 349445 Senior Four candidates, 175,923 males and 175522  females are expected to sit for their UCE final examinations countrywide.

Thousands of people have today gathered at Makerere University to celebrate the institution’s 100 years of existence.

The centenary celebrations have been held under the theme: “Leveraging the 100 Years of Excellence in Building a Transformed Society“

Established in 1922 with only 14 students, Makerere has over the years grown to become one of the most prestigious Universities in Africa and around the World.

Speaking at the event, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Vice Chancellor, said that nobody would have predicted that something that began with 14 bare feet students in grass thatched huts would evolve into what we have today.

“I pledge total commitment to Makerere University to ensure that our institution remains on the path to nurturing graduates and producing research responsible for national development,” said Prof Nawangwe.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Museveni who has been the chief guest emphasized his call on Makerere University to focus mainly on science and research to help solve the country’s problems.

The president explained that whereas other continents have made great strides towards development, African has remained behind because of failure to embrace science and technology as a key to growth and development.

 “If we are to survive in modern world we must deal with issue of prosperity of society. You can’t be prosperous unless you produce more goods and services of all types and with science, there has been some good progress. With science, we have moved a bit and now going to move more decisively,” said Museveni.

Although he maintains his stance on paying scientists better than their arts counterparts, the president urged their social sciences counterparts to have something to show of their efforts to solve the country’s problems.

“Social scientists and economist should be talking of economic integration. For social scientists, let’s get time and talk .If Makerere has survived 100 years, what has not been done will be done.”

“I congratulate Makerere especially the science branch (for a job well-done). The faculties of medicine, agriculture, engineering, food science and ICT have done well and I encourage you to continue,” said Museveni.

In her speech delivered by the state minister, First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataaha Museveni described the attainment of 100 years by Makerere University as historic.

“As we commemorate the significance of the past 100 years, we must leverage the vast experiences to spur national development.  We need to restore what has been broken to set new path for future generations.  I challenge Makarere to step out of the past and intentionally seek to provide solutions to society’s needs. As government we are committed to supporting you in this endeavor,” said Janet Museveni.

Among the notable Makerere University alumni are several presidents and prime ministers including Joseph Kabila (Democratic Republic of Congo), Julius Nyerere and Benjamin Mkapa (Tanzania), Mwai Kibaki (Kenya), and Milton Obote and Ruhakana Rugunda (Uganda).

Writers such as Ngugi wa Thiong’o from Kenya and David Rubadiri from Malawi, scholars and political activists such as Stella Nyanzi and Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine are also Makerere alumni.

Uganda’s health ministry has confirmed an outbreak of the highly contagious Ebola virus in the central district of Mubende.

The ministry announced the country’s first death from Ebola since 2019.

“The confirmed case is a 24-year-old male who presented with its symptoms and later succumbed,” said the ministry on Twitter.

Dr. Diana Atwiine, the permanent secretary ministry of health said the confirmed case is a resident Ngabano village, Madudu sub-county in Mubende district who presented with Ebola symptoms and later died.

Dr. Atwiine added that the samples tested by Uganda Virus Research Institute show that the virus is a Sudan strain.

In a statement released earlier, the World Health Organization also confirmed that the 24-year-old man in Mubende had tested positive for “the relatively rare Sudan strain” of the virus.

“We are working closely with the national health authorities to investigate the source of this outbreak while supporting the efforts to quickly roll out effective control measures,” they added.

While speaking to our reporter, the Kazo District Health Officer, Dr Tweheyo Samuel Kiroha has urged all people to be vigilant and prevent the spread of the disease.

“Human transmission is through body fluids, with the main symptoms being fever, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhea” said Dr. Tweheyo.

Dr. Atwine also called for calm and extra vigilance from Ugandans saying the ministry is working with partners who have instituted preliminary containment measures to control the spread.

First identified in 1976 in the DRC (then Zaire), the virus, whose natural host is the bat, has since set off a series of epidemics in Africa, killing around 15,000 people.

DRC has had more than a dozen epidemics, the deadliest killing 2,280 people in 2020.

Uganda shares a porous border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has experienced several Ebola outbreaks in the past, most recently in 2019, when at least five people died.

Less than six weeks after an epidemic in the country’s northwest was declared over, the DRC last month recorded a new case in the East.

According to WHO, there had been seven previous outbreaks of the Ebola Sudan strain, four in Uganda and three in Sudan.

Head teachers and their deputies both in government and private secondary schools have been called upon to tighten their supervision on their staff members if learners are to perform better.

Speaking during the ongoing annual general meeting of all head teachers and their deputies under their umbrella Association of Secondary School Head teachers of Uganda (ASSHA) at Ntare school in Mbarara city, Sam Kuloba, the commissioner for secondary education in the ministry of education and sports noted that some heads of school are not doing their part and this has left many learners unable to move past the post covid-19 effects.

Kuloba advised the school heads to always listen to grievances of learners through designated communication channels as one way of eliminating the tendency of strikes in schools.

Kuloba noted that some school heads tend to ignore the concerns of the learners and this makes the learners feel isolated hence forcing them to strike.

He also revealed that as the ministry, they are looking into concerns raised by head teachers about the over-stays of some teachers at their work stations and end up turning schools into their homes.

Jimmy Turyagenda, the host head teacher of Ntare school who doubles as the outgoing general secretary for ASSHA asked his fellow colleagues to be more creative and innovative by creating projects that are money making to avoid stressing the parents all the time increasing school fees.

Turyagyenda noted that this has made many parents keep on changing schools which affects the learners’ performance.

According to the news sources, the president and first lady Janet Kataha Museveni who doubles as the Minister of Education and Sports are expected to close the ongoing workshop on Saturday.