Nearly 45,000 candidates on Monday started sitting for the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) examinations across the country.
Speaking during the official ringing of the bell to mark the start of the exams, Martin Tako Moyi, the Deputy Minister of General Education and Instruction, said this year`s examination is going to be the most credible in history, stressing that the candidates not be duped by fake examination papers circulating in Juba town.
“We want you to succeed because of your efforts, the efforts of your parents, the effort of the headmasters, and the effort of the staff. This is very important. We have been following fake examination papers these days and those who will put their faith in that will fail,” he advised. “You will have a very successful examination and a credible certificate that will be accepted all over the world for scholarships because we have put an end to all the malpractices.”
“I am warning all the candidates that we will not tolerate any malpractice whether in the classroom or by some of the teachers attempting to write examination for candidates and this will be punishable and those involved will be dismissed forever,” Tako added.
For his part, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, the Vice President in charge of the Service Delivery Cluster, lauded the education ministry’s efforts to ensure that the exams are done within the academic calendar.
“The government is grateful to you for carrying out your duties diligently and dedicatedly despite the professional challenges. Please note that the government will continue to improve the living standards and conditions of teachers with time,” he reassured. “The service delivery cluster members under my leadership fight for budgetary increment to meet your needs and we shall not waver until this is realized.”
Akol urged teachers always to maintain high professional integrity and expunge the vice of examination malpractices.
“I would like to remind you of the importance of honesty and integrity when discharging your duties. I would like to particularly draw your attention to examination malpractices which occur when students are sitting for their examinations,” he warned. “Academic malpractice is an offense in South Sudan and is punishable by law. I strongly warn you against cheating and dishonest behavior when taking exams.”
Meanwhile, Simon Nyok, the secretary of the National Examination Council, said they managed to deliver examination papers to all the centers despite the challenges occasioned by flooding, especially in the Upper Nile Region.
“We have been experiencing challenges in terms of transportation of exams given that many places are not accessible and we had to fly into those areas, especially the greater Upper Nile Region,” he elucidated. “I thank God that by Sunday morning we were able to reach those hard-to-reach areas and the exams were stored in police stations all over the country.”
A total of 44,991 candidates, including 28,289 males and 16,685 females, have registered, including 887 refugees, out of which 616 are males and 267 females. Additionally, 2,103 students registered for the accelerated secondary education program.
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