Concern as nursing students return to exam cheating

Examination malpractice is resurfacing among nursing, midwifery and allied health trainees, just years after authorities had reduced cases to a handful.

The Uganda Health Professions Assessment Board (UHPAB) said Tuesday that it had withheld the results of 79 continuing students over suspected examination malpractice, while 130 suspected cases were recorded among finalists in the June 2026 examination series.

The figures represent a sharp reversal of the progress previously made in curbing cheating.

Only three candidates were flagged in the December 2024 examination series, compared with 13 cases when the problem first emerged under the now-defunct Uganda Nurses and Midwives Examination Board in 2019.

At the time, malpractice included forged logbooks, possession of unauthorised materials and assistance from outsiders during examinations. Releasing the latest results, acting permanent secretary at the ministry of Education Doreen Ankunda described examination malpractice as a persistent problem in the education sector that must be treated with greater seriousness in health training.

“Malpractice in health training should not be tolerated. These professionals will be trusted with people’s lives. There is no excuse,” Ankunda said.

Acting Education minister John Chrysostom Muyingo backed the position, saying candidates implicated in malpractice cannot be allowed to enter the health workforce on the strength of compromised results.

In 2023, the board expelled a final-year nursing trainee for forging a logbook and subsequently refusing to admit the offence after the forgery was discovered. The board described the conduct as inexcusable.

Tougher rules

UHPAB executive secretary Helen Mukakarisa Kataratambi said new regulations have given the board explicit powers to withhold, cancel or nullify results linked to examination malpractice.

She said the powers had previously been limited because UHPAB was a recently established merger and had not yet developed its own regulations.

“Candidates should be aware that we don’t sympathise with those involved in the vice,” Kataratambi said, adding that the board would continue tightening invigilation and investigations to protect the integrity of examinations used to determine entry into the health workforce.

Diploma students struggle

Beyond malpractice, the latest results showed mixed performance among health trainees.

Of the 75,577 continuing students who sat the examinations, 57,399, or 75.9 per cent, passed. Another 17,829 candidates, representing 23.6 per cent, failed to attain the pass mark and will be required to retake the affected papers in the next examination series.

Among finalists, certificate candidates performed better. Of the 8,969 who sat the examinations, 88 per cent passed, while 984 candidates were ungraded and will have to retake failed papers in December.

Officials said the certificate results represented an improvement compared with the June 2025 examination series. Diploma candidates, however, recorded weaker results. Of the 5,117 who sat the examinations, 4,344, or 84.9 per cent, passed, while 702, or 13.7 per cent, failed.

Muyingo described the performance as weak and directed training institutions to strengthen competency assessment during practicum placements so that learning gaps can be identified and addressed earlier.

Diploma students have consistently performed below expected levels over the years. The latest results also showed a steep decline in distinctions, with only 7.41 per cent of candidates attaining the top grade, compared with 29.4 per cent in the previous year.

Kataratambi attributed the weaker diploma performance partly to the pressures faced by many diploma students outside the classroom.

“They pay their own tuition fees and therefore juggle between work and school. Most of them are married and sometimes attend to family matters. These and other reasons contribute to the unsatisfactory performance,” she said.

The statement of results showed stronger performance in certificate in nursing, certificate in medical laboratory techniques, diploma in nursing extension and diploma in midwifery.

Weaker performance was recorded in diploma in clinical medicine and community health, diploma in medical radiography, diploma in pharmacy, certificate in pharmacy, and certificate in medical records and health informatics.

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