KAMPALA – Schools should prioritize integrity alongside good grades. Despite the level of education or performance, integrity remains an essential component of academic excellence. It’s fundamental for educational institutions to uphold integrity as it sets a positive example for students.
Unfortunately, some schools have compromised on integrity in pursuit of good grades. According to the UNEB Secretary Dan Odongo, some schools registered their top students under the “Others” category, which includes students with conditions like asthma, epilepsy, and sickle cell anemia, solely to benefit from the extra 45 minutes of examinations granted by UNEB.
As Odongo pointed out, “A worrying development has been noticed in a few schools that are registering perfectly normal students to be recognized as special needs candidates. The errant schools have been found to select their good pupils to benefit from the extra time.”
Last year’s UNEB’s theme, “Embracing Security and Holistic Assessment of Learners in a Dynamic Environment,” emphasized the need to build a secure and supportive learning environment in which learners are assessed comprehensively and holistically. However, the continuation of vices such as misuse of the ‘Others’ category indicates that the theme is not being implemented.
The fact that cheating and other vices continue to occur implies that the learning environment is unsafe and prevention methods are ineffective. Furthermore, the assessment process was also not holistic or complete, thus certain students may be unfairly disadvantaged.
While UNEB has emphasized the need to adopt a dynamic environment to foster good change and improvement, the reality on the ground reveals a disconnect between the theme’s intentions and its actual implementation.
Yes, schools are at the foundation of these vices, having provided misleading information in order to gain an advantage, but it’s UNEB’s mandate to prevent such activities and ensure a level playing field for all learners.
Therefore, both schools and UNEB should work together to ensure integrity and justice in education. When schools prioritize integrity, they foster a culture of honesty and responsibility among students. This, in turn, helps students develop essential life skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making. Moreover, integrity helps to build trust between students, teachers, and the broader community.On the other side, compromising on integrity can have severe consequences such as a lack of trust, undermining academic credibility, and perpetuating a culture of dishonesty.
In addition to the consequences mentioned above, compromising on integrity can also lead to a lack of accountability, which can have far-reaching effects on the education system as a whole. When schools and educators are not held accountable for their actions, it can create a culture of impunity, where cheating and other forms of dishonesty are tolerated and even encouraged.
Furthermore, compromising on integrity can also undermine the value of education itself. When students are able to cheat their way to good grades, it devalues the hard work and effort that other students put into their studies. It also sends a message that cheating is an acceptable way to achieve success, which can have long-term consequences for individuals and society as a whole.
To address the issue of compromised integrity in education, both schools and UNEB must work together to ensure a level playing field for all learners.
This can be achieved by; Implementing stricter regulations and monitoring systems to prevent the misuse of categories like “Others” , promoting a culture of honesty and responsibility among students and teachers ,encouraging open communication and feedback mechanisms to address concerns and prevent dishonest practices ,providing training and resources for teachers and administrators to uphold integrity in education ,encouraging parents and the broader community to get involved in promoting integrity in education
When integrity is prioritized in education, we can foster a culture of honesty, responsibility, and trust, ultimately shaping the minds of future leaders and citizens.
The writer, Abisagi Nalwadda is a journalism student at Makerere University’s Department of Journalism and Communication.
