Education Minister Hon. Janet Museveni commissioned this Friday the New Stores & Office Block for Uganda National Examinations Board(UNEB) at Kyambogo in Kampala.
The bulk store has heavy paper reels as well as scripts.
A boardroom and several committee rooms are available, along with a large conference room that can accommodate over 300 people. Also included in the structure is a resource centre, offices for script and Examinations Development and Manuscript officers, science laboratories, and a safe room for an examinations bank.
Janet said she was pleased to learn that “this is a multi-purpose structure, resolving the issue of storing sensitive materials such as examination scripts, while also providing office space and conference facilities.”
She added: “Additionally, I am informed that this facility is well equipped and furnished, and so, utilisation and functionality are guaranteed upon its Commissioning. This is the way to go with all government projects if value for money is to be realised.”
Janet further said the board, management, contractors, and technical teams all worked together to ensure that resources were used efficiently, that “no corners were cut,” and that deadlines were met.
“This is commendable, and I urge all the other Government Contract Managers to emulate this good practice,” said the Minister.
UNEB’s Executive Secretary, Dan Odong, said the facility was constructed by Techno Three Uganda Ltd., “on whom we did a lot of due diligence checks.”
He said that the facility is equipped with a web offset printer in one colour, an automatic counting machine and a wrapping machine to secure the packing of exam papers, a five-colour print for jobs containing colour images, a printer for certificate slips and result slips and a machine which fixes holograms on certificates.
Janet said that the new equipment and machinery has increased the printer’s capacity.
“This means that the Board now has the capacity to handle its assessment tasks efficiently and effectively and to also undertake to offer printing services to other Ministry Departments and Agencies, at a modest fee,” said Janaet, adding, “This also reduces the costs that used to be incurred when examinations and certificates were externally printed, therefore significantly saving Government resources.”
She said it was time “to stop the dependency syndrome that has crippled Africa for decades; it is time to stand independent and self-reliant as God commanded us to be.”
