Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) Act

Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) Act

Uganda National Examinations Board Act 1983

Chapter number:

137

In-force:

Yes

CHAPTER 137

THE UGANDA NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS BOARD ACT.

Arrangement of Sections.

Section

Interpretation.

1. Interpretation.

Establishment and functions of the board.

Establishment of the board.

Seal and documents of the board.

Functions of the board.

Powers.

Composition of the board.

Meetings of the board.

Committees of the board.

Functions of the board’s committees.

Composition and meetings of committees.

Remuneration of board members.

Staff.

Secretary.

Staff of the board.

Financial provisions.

Funds of the board.

Estimates.

Accounts and audit.

Assets and liabilities.

Miscellaneous provisions.

18. Award of certificates. Offences and penalties. Bye laws of the board.
Regulations.

CHAPTER 137

THE UGANDA NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS BOARD ACT.

An Act to establish the Uganda National Examinations Board, its functions, management and other matters connected there with.

1. Interpretation.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“board” means the Uganda National Examinations Board established under section 2;

“candidate” means a person enrolled by the board for the purposes of sitting for any of the board’s examinations;

“certificate” means a document awarded by the board which is duly signed by the authorised officers showing the results obtained by a particular candidate in examinations sat by him or her;

“chairperson” means the chairperson of the board;

“committee” means a committee of the board;

“diploma” means a document awarded by the board, to persons in higher institutions, which is duly signed by the authorised officers showing the results obtained by a particular candidate in examinations sat by him or her;

“examination material” means question papers and any other materials which are to be used by a candidate in a public examination and identified as such;

(h) “ex officio member” means a person who according to this Act is expected to attend meetings only by virtue of the office he or she holds in the public service.

2. Establishment of the board.

(1) There is established a board to be known as the Uganda National Examinations Board.
(2) The board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, and may sue or be sued in its corporate name, and may purchase, hold, manage and dispose of any property, and enter into such contracts or other transactions, as may be necessary or expedient for the discharge of its functions under this Act.

3. Seal and documents of the board.

The seal of the board shall be authenticated by the signatures of the chairperson and the secretary and shall be in the custody of the secretary.

Every document purporting to be an instrument made or issued by the board and to be sealed with the seal of the board authenticated in the manner provided by this section shall be received and deemed to be such an instrument without further proof unless the contrary is shown.

4. Functions of the board.

(1) The functions of the board shall be—

to conduct primary, secondary, technical and such other examinations within Uganda as it may consider desirable in the public interest;

to publish past examination papers;

to award certificates or diplomas to successful candidates in such examinations;

to invite any body or bodies outside Uganda, as it may think fit, and to conduct jointly academic, technical and other examinations;

to award acceptable certificates or diplomas to successful candidates jointly with the invited bodies;

to invite other bodies, as it may think fit, to conduct examinations and award acceptable certificates or diplomas;

to advise any body or bodies so invited under paragraphs (d) and (f) upon the adoption of examinations necessary for the requirements of Uganda and to assist any such body or bodies to conduct such examinations;

(h) to make arrangements for the conduct of research and

development of examination systems; and (i) to make rules regulating the conduct of examinations and for all

purposes incidental thereto.

The board shall, in consultation with the Minister, release the examination results to the public within a reasonable period.

The board may, with the prior approval of the Minister, delay, cancel or withhold the examination results for a reasonable cause.

5. Powers.

The board shall have power to do all such things and to act in all ways necessary for, or incidental to, the purposes for which it is established and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing may, in particular—

acquire, hold, charge, alienate and dispose of property both moveable and immoveable;

lease or take on lease land together with any improvements on the land;

carry out any improvement upon any land held by it;

derive capital or income from property held by it;

raise or borrow money in such manner and upon such security as it may from time to time determine;

invest any monies not immediately required in any investment or project approved by the Minister;

(g) enter into agreements with any person or body;
(h) delegate any of its powers and functions, other than the approval

of estimates or any powers required by this Act to be exercised by resolution of the board, to any member, officer or committee of the board as it may deem necessary.

6. Composition of the board.

(1) The board shall consist of—

a chairperson who shall be appointed by the President; representatives of the Government, namely—

(i) the chief education officer; (ii) the chief inspector of schools;

(iii) vice chancellors of the universities in the country; ten heads of other teaching institutions to be appointed as follows—

(i) four head teachers of secondary schools to be elected by the school and a school with a technical or vocational bias;

(ii) one head of a technical school or institute to be appointed by the Minister;

(iii) four heads of primary schools, to be appointed by the Minister;

(iv) one head of a primary teachers college to be elected by the Principals Association; heads of post secondary institutions to be appointed by the Minister, namely—

(i) a director of a teachers college;

(ii) a principal of a technical college;

(iii) a principal of a college of commerce;

(iv) a head of an agricultural institution; five other members to be—

(i) the director of the National Curriculum Development Centre;

(ii) one member to be nominated by the Public Service Commission, from its secretariat; (iii) one member to be nominated by the Education Service Commission, from its secretariat;

(iv) two representatives of the universities in the country to be appointed by the Minister;

(f) three other members from the public to be appointed by the
Minister.

(2) No person shall be appointed to the board if—he or she is of unsound mind;

he or she has been previously convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude; he or she is an undischarged bankrupt.

(3) Non-ex-officio members of the board shall hold office for a term
of three years and shall be eligible for reappointment.

(4) Any non-ex-officio member of the board who fails to attend more than three consecutive meetings of the board without excuse shall have his or her membership terminated by the appointing authority on the advice of the board, and the appointing authority shall then appoint another person.

(5) Any non-ex-officio member of the board may resign his or her office by writing under his or her hand addressed to the chairperson.

Any non-ex-officio member other than the chairperson may be removed from office by the Minister for inability to perform the functions of his or her office or for any other sufficient cause.

If a member of the board dies, resigns, is removed from office or for any other reason ceases to hold office before the expiration of the term for which he or she was appointed, nominated or elected, the authority concerned shall appoint, nominate or elect another person in his or her stead to hold office until the expiration of the term of office of the member in whose place he or she was appointed, nominated or elected.

7. Meetings of the board.

The board shall meet for the discharge of its functions under this Act at least once in six months at such place and time as the chairperson of the board may determine or upon the request in writing of at least twelve members of the board; or where he or she sees reason to do so, the chairperson may convene a meeting.

The chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the board, and in his or her absence such other member of the board as the members present shall appoint shall preside.

Nine members of the board, of whom at least three should be ex officio members, shall form a quorum.

Questions proposed at a meeting of the board shall be determined by a simple majority of the members present and voting, and in the case of equality the person presiding at the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

All proceedings of the board shall be strictly confidential.

Subject to subsections (1) to (5) and the approval of the Minister, the board may regulate its own procedure.

8. Committees of the board.

The board shall have the following committees—

(a) the finance and general purposes committee;

the secondary school examinations committee;

the technical education examinations committee;

the business education examinations committee;

the primary school examinations committee;

the examinations research committee; and

such other committees as the board may from time to time consider necessary.

9. Functions of the board’s committees.

(1) The finance and general purpose committee shall—

act as the coordinator of the board in the management of its affairs; consider and recommend to the board—

(i) the conditions of service of officers and other employees of the board, including examiners, setters and moderators;

(ii) the fees to be charged from candidates taking examinations of the board;

(iii) all other matters involving estimates of income and expenditure accounts of the board.

(2) The secondary school, primary school, technical education and
business education examinations committees shall, in their respective
fields—

ensure the security of examination papers;

consider and recommend on the nature of examinations to be set;

recommend arrangements for the conduct of examinations provided by the board;

recommend setters, moderators, invigilators, supervisors and examiners;

ensure the maintenance of standards appropriate to the subjects taken and to the candidates taking the examinations;

prepare reports on past examinations for consideration by the board.

(3) The examinations research committee shall—

consider and advise the board on research proposals submitted by the staff of the board engaged in research;

advise the various examinations committees on the findings of the research carried out by the staff of the board; review examination results statistics with a view to improving examination techniques; (d) consider such other matters as may be referred to it by the board.