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The Ugandan government has announced a ban on the public display of students’ examination results, including their names, grades, and photographs, in line with the Data Protection and Privacy Act, Cap 97.
This directive was made by the Minister of Education and First Lady, Janet Museveni, during the release of the 2024 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) results.
The move, according to the minister, is aimed at protecting learners from harassment, stigma, and emotional distress while also eliminating unethical ranking practices among schools.
New Competency-Based Curriculum Takes Effect
The 2024 UCE exams were sat by the first cohort of students under the new lower secondary competency-based curriculum, which was introduced in 2020.
In her speech, Janet Museveni expressed gratitude to the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) for its efforts in developing the new system, and to parents who contributed to the final review of the curriculum.
She called upon Ugandans to embrace the changes, adding that the previous aggregates and divisions grading system had led to unethical competition among schools.
"For a long time, schools have been ranked based on aggregates and divisions attained, which created unhealthy competition and led to unethical practices. I am happy to see that the NCDC and UNEB have now eliminated this ranking system," she stated.
Protecting Student Privacy and Data
Mrs Museveni revealed that the Office of Data Protection and Policy had since advised UNEB that the publication of students’ personal information, such as names, photographs, and grades, violates children’s privacy rights.
She said displaying individual results on school notice boards, in newspapers, or on social media exposes learners to emotional distress and stigma, particularly those who do not perform well.
"I have been informed that publicly disclosing the names, photographs, and grades of individual learners on boards or other platforms exposes such learners to harassment, stigma, and emotional distress," she said.
Schools have been advised to explore alternative methods of announcing results without violating student privacy.
Schools Must Comply with Data Protection Laws
The Minister tasked UNEB and other assessment agencies to liaise with the Office of Data Protection and Policy for further guidance on compliance with the Data Protection and Privacy Act.
Moving forward, the Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Education will issue a formal circular to all schools and institutions, outlining new guidelines on handling examination results.
"For now, in keeping with the provisions of the Act and its regulations, schools and institutions of learning should desist from all forms of public display of individual learning results," Museveni emphasised.