National Examination Week

The excitement these past few weeks in school has been the Form 4 national exams. The students take a test in 8 or 9 different subjects, and some take more depending on which classes they’ve taken. Every school had security guards stationed 24/7 for the exam papers, which were locked in the headmaster’s office. Teachers from each school were also transferred to other schools in the district to proctor the exam. These are certainly not taken lightly! The students took two tests per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I haven’t actually seen the exams from this year, but I’m sure they were quite difficult. I’m not sure exactly what it takes to pass the examinations, but I know that they do not need to pass all subjects to move on. If a student does pass, they are able to continue to the Advanced level, forms five and six, before eventually attending a university. Unfortunately for many of my students, A-level will never be a reality, as last year only one student passed the exams. There are a handful of very bright students in the class this year though, so perhaps Bukiriro will send a few more students onto Form 5 next year. It’s hard when education isn’t a priority in the community and when these students have so many other responsibilities at school and outside of school. Combine this with lack of teachers and resources and a curriculum that hardly relates to their lives, it’s a wonder that students show up day after day! They are so eager to learn! Case in point: One day, I was going to let my Form 1 class have a break from doing exercises/practice problems, since I had given them exams both class periods before. And what do they ask me? For more exercises! I certainly didn’t say no, and gave them a few problems to work on, which they all completed in their notebooks and delivered to my office for marking. A teacher’s dream! I didn’t even mind the fact that I had to correct 65 notebooks for Form 1, and then another 60 for Form 3 that day. In America, it was nearly impossible to get students to turn in work most of the time, while here, they ask for more. An interesting perspective.