UVTAB conducts inaugural national exams

KAMPALA, UGANDA | THE INDEPENDENT | The newly established Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board (UVTAB) has launched its inaugural national assessment, marking a significant milestone in the advancement of the country’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector.

UVTAB was established under the TVET Act by merging the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT), which had been in operation since 1972, with the Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board (UBTEB), which was established in 2010. Standardizing assessments across Uganda’s technical and vocational institutions is now the responsibility of the unified board.

According to UVTAB, this May-June first cohort of its assessment has attracted a total of 53,707 candidates registered at 478 accredited centres nationwide. Among these, 13,000 candidates from informal training centres are being assessed at Level One and Two qualifications, while others will be awarded Workers’ PAS certificates based on prior learning and experience.

UVTAB Executive Secretary, Onesmus Oyesigye, said that 367 scouts have been deployed to monitor the exercise, while 849 assessors will be evaluating learners’ hands-on skills across the country. “Briefings for candidates took place on May 2, while scouts and assessors were oriented on May 3 ahead of the start of practical assessments. And with the help of police, the assessment materials have already been sent out, ” said Oyesigye.

Oyesigye added a major challenge facing the board—high costs of materials required for practical assessments, a cost which is passed done to the candidate. “Currently, we are not yet in a position to provide materials to the schools. We know that materials are expensive, and in times, the burden is pushed to the candidate,” he said.

However, He noted that the board is exploring sustainable solutions, including promoting the use of low-cost, locally available materials during assessments. he added that this will be done, but in mind to the integrity and quality of the assessments, which to him can be undermined.

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Meanwhile, Dr. Nahamya Karukuza Wilfred, Deputy Executive Secretary for Examinations Management, also noted that with their first cohort of candidates, the board is making deliberate efforts to ensure inclusivity by assessing learners with disabilities and offering them the necessary support.

“In this assessment, the board has registered 110 persons with disabilities. We had already built some capacity within UBTEB, and we are now working to expand on that. We have developed more capacity in this area and hope that more persons with disabilities will be brought on board,” he said.

He further added that, over time, UVTAB, which has also been mandated to develop curricula, will seek to update the curriculum to include tailored training and assessment solutions for learners with disabilities so they can be assessed appropriately.

In the same vein, he highlighted a broader shift toward equitable access in TVET, noting encouraging signs of narrowing gender gaps, with more girls now enrolling in fields that were previously male-dominated.

UVTAB was established as a means to consolidate the functions of assessing both informal and formal TVET at the modular, certificate, and diploma levels across the country. Its creation aims to eliminate the previously scattered assessment processes and other related functions that had been fragmented across different institutions.

The board became operational following the gazettement of the TVET Act Commencement Instrument on March 14 of this year.

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