By William Madouk
The Ministry of General Education and Instruction has bitterly dismissed claims that fifty-three candidates missed senior four national exams over an abrupt change in exams center in Ulang County of Upper Nile State.
Minister Awut Deng Acuil however said she is not aware of any change in examination centers, adding that no centers are shifted at the last minute. She also downplayed the figure of student who is in Ulang to only one student.
“I don’t know any center that has been changed, when centers are set – they are set and a circular is sent out and there is no change of the center in the last minute,” Awut said.
“If the Center was Nasir that remains as Nasir and if its Ulang than it remains Ulang, but if you have one person in Ulang sitting examinations, does it make it a center?” she quizzed.
Awut revealed that a county can have exams center if it has three schools, affirming that only one student in Ulang was supposed to join his fellow colleagues in Nasir but not fifty-three students as reported.
“We said there are supposed to be three schools to make it a center, but one student if he has not across to go and sit there – it cannot make it a center. but there is nothing that 53 [candidates] have missed out [of exams],” the minister dismissed.
Minister Awut said her office has not changed any center and urged the state authority not to change exams centers.
“It’s important for the state not to change the centers in the last minute, registration is a process, identifications of the center is done by the state and confirmed by the national government and we take the exams,” she noted.
“So, we care more about those learners who have struggle for 8 or 4 years to have their examination done to their next ladder, and that is why if there is no access, we try our level best to access them to their exams done,” she added.
She was reacting to Ulang County Education Director who said about 53 students missed sitting for this year’s S.4 exams after changing exams center.
Ulang County Director, Samuel Koang alleged that the national examination council designed one exams center for the area but this was later shifted to Nasir County.
According to him, the students could not afford transport to Nasir and there is insecurity along the road.