education 21 September 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Budaka Officials Accused of UPE Registration Scam
Budaka District leaders have uncovered an alleged scam where senior education officers are accused of collecting examination fees from private schools and registering their pupils as UPE students. This has resulted in a significant financial liability for the district. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/budaka-education-officers-accused-of-upe-registration-scam-5602952
Budaka District is grappling with allegations of a corruption scheme within its education department, involving the illicit registration of Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) candidates. District LC5 Chairperson Anthony Kateu revealed that senior education officers are accused of taking registration fees from proprietors of private primary schools.
Instead of processing these fees for UNEB, the officers allegedly used these funds and then registered some of the private school candidates as Universal Primary Education (UPE) students under government-aided schools. This practice, which has reportedly been ongoing for years, came to light during a district council meeting where Mr. Kateu presented the district’s financial status.
This alleged scam has left Budaka District with an outstanding bill of Shs34.982 million owed to the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) for these improperly registered candidates. Mr. Kateu warned that failure to clear this debt could lead to UNEB withholding the examination results of the affected students.
One senior officer, former District Inspector of Schools Robert Wandera, has been interdicted and removed from overseeing the e-registration process pending investigation. However, Mr. Wandera denies the accusations, calling them politically motivated and baseless, and has challenged accusers to provide evidence of him receiving money. He stated that head teachers are responsible for the e-registration and that private schools should declare candidates properly.
Further investigations are underway, with Mr. Kateu calling for disciplinary action against the acting District Education Officer, Richard Wako. Mr. Wako, who is currently on forced leave, also claims political motives behind the accusations and asserts that his office discovered the discrepancies during verification. He stated that affected schools have begun clearing the outstanding fees.
Mr. Kateu has vowed to combat corruption within his administration, emphasizing that all public funds must be used for the benefit of the people of Budaka and that any officials found culpable will be held accountable and made to refund misused money.