{UAH} Fwd: {UMBS} WE NEED A DEMONSTRATION AGAINST UNEB IDD DAY EXAMINATIONS

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From: Muslim Muslim <m.muslim654@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Oct 10, 2013 at 11:33 AM

WE NEED A DEMONSTRATION AGAINST UNEB IDD DAY EXAMINATIONS

The story below has appeared in the Monitor newspaper today.  Of course for all people who have studied in Uganda in the last three decades, this is not news. It is the perennial practice of UNEB to schedule exams on Iddi day. What is very disturbing however is that UNEB has only one justification which is constant. They always claim that the time table was made long time ago and all arrangements made accordingly – therefore, examinations cannot be changed at the last minute to accommodate Idd prayers!

Obviously, this is a lousy excuse because timetabling national examinations does not take place on another planet. I believe that it is a process that that takes place in Kampala with lots of Muslims. Why then do the UNEB time table designers forget the Muslim's Iddi day every year, despite giving due consideration to all other events and issues expected to occur during that time?  The day of Idd Adhuha can easily be traced on the Islamic calendar, which is freely available, but UNEB officials choose to continuously ignore this annual public holiday by scheduling examinations on the day.

I have been contemplating whether I should blame Muslim leaders on this issue, but I think it will be unfair to them.  If UNEB thinks it is not relevant to consult them about it, then it is examination body to be held squarely responsible. The only thing I want to ask our leaders is to mobilize for a demonstration.  What our leaders have been doing over the years is to condemn the practice and calling up on UNEB to consider Muslim students in subsequent years. Unfortunately it is not working. UNEB continues to violate this fundamental freedom for the Muslim faith in Uganda with impunity.  That is why  I believe that Muslims have to come out and match peacefully to UNEB. We need to draft a good document containing our concerns which should be handed to the UNEB leadership. This is a fairly simple thing to do, but its message will make greater impact than the clamour we are waiting to make in the mosques on Idd day.

Always keep this in mind: If Muslims do not raise their voices to claim for their rights, most actors in this country consider the community inconsequential. That is why they act the way they do. We must realize that we have over delayed to claim this right.

Eid Mubarak to you all

Muslim

 

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Uneb exams to go on despite Idd celebrations

Daily Monitor, 10 October 2013

Kampala

As other Ugandans will be celebrating Idd-ul-Adhuha next Tuesday, thousands of Senior Four candidates across the country will be walking into examination rooms to write their Chemistry Paper.

The Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) announced yesterday that the examination time table will not change despite the day being a public holiday. "We respect Idd but this (examinations) being part of a national programme with a set time table, nothing can change. We urge our candidates to celebrate the day doing their examinations," Uneb chairperson Fagil Mandy told the Daily Monitor by telephone yesterday.

A total of 295,494 Senior Four candidates are set to sit exams from 2,889 examination centres. The candidates will be briefed tomorrow ahead of their first paper in Geography on October 14.

Idd-ul-Adhuha is the second grand feast which Muslims celebrate to mark the end of the year according to the Islamic calendar. Sheikh Hassan Kirya , the spokesperson of the Kibuli Muslim administration, attacked Uneb for being insensitive to Muslim issues, saying the examination body has always disrespected Islamic holidays despite government declaring the days as public holidays.

"We really don't know what those (Uneb) people are up to. We have always complained about that day but it seems they just don't want to respect our holidays. For us, we know our calendar but we wonder why Uneb doesn't consult us when drawing its time table," he said.

Muslim leaders have in the past expressed dismay at Uneb for conducting national exams on Muslim holidays. Last year, Muslims celebrated Idd-ul-Adhuha as Senior Four candidates were doing Chemistry Paper Four in the morning and Accounts Paper One in the afternoon.

assenkabirwa@ug.nationmedia.com

 

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