Kyaka II settlement is a refugee camp in Southwest Uganda where United National High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is the lead coordinating agency, together with key implementing partners the Finnish Refugee Council (FRC), Alight, Save the Children, and the Lutheran World Federation. As of June 2023, Kyaka was hosting 120,785 refugees, the majority arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo with dire needs. Kyaka was established in 2003, and was originally a camp that hosted Rwandan and Burundian refugees.

For the last 27 years, FRC has been supporting refugees and host communities by providing them with adult literacy skills in Southwest Uganda. In the past, learners in the settlements go through a training period ranging from one to six months, and at the end they sit for an exam prepared by their instructor. Although this method of assessment worked well for the learners, it was not very effective or informative as an evaluation tool.

Therefore, in a bid to make the final assessment uniform across all settlements, it was necessary to set a standardized exam based on the already existing Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) curriculum. This was done with assistance from a specialist in developing training materials. The exam was divided into two sections, A and B. Section A consists of dictation and writing questions while section B focuses on comprehension questions.

On September 25th, 2023, FRC organized this standardized exam for all FAL learners, including those on the UNCR programme. The exams were simultaneous, and employed external supervisors to ensure quality and reduce any malpractice.

Although the exams received a mixed reception from both learners and instructors, one instructor noted that: “According to me, as an instructor, this is good because we have been setting simple exams for them but with the standardized exam the learners are forced to think and concentrate on what they are doing. I am happy with the exam.”

FRC uses community-based instructors to teach the classes. Instructors should possess at least an S.4 certificate, but in some cases they don’t. Also, they should be fluent in the local language of the learners, which is used in the classroom.

The curriculum has been translated into six languages so far. However, the focus is on using the dominant language of the settlement. Given that some ethnic groups are quite small, it would not make economic sense to translate the curriculum into languages with very small target groups.

Learners share their experience with the standardized exam

Agnes Furaha, a FAL learner who has lived as a refugee in Kyaka II for 13 years, noted that “the exam was hard, but I tried to answer all questions that I could.” While sharing about her prospects she went on to share about her plans after the exam noting that that if she passed, she would like to enrol for the FAL advanced class, and later join the English class. She further stated that if she fails the exam, she would still be willing to try again.

Babusinza Murabaho, also from Kyaka II, noted that “the exam has been difficult for me, because I missed five months of classes. At first, my wife gave birth to triplets and needed help. Then after that, my son fell sick and was admitted in hospital for 3 months.” He said that “missing all those classes affected my progress. I am slow at reading and writing and also my handwriting is still poor”. Although it has been a rough start for Murabaho, he is planning to repeat the class and hopes that he will pass the exam without difficulty.

Instructors share their experiences of administering the standardized exam

While sharing about her experience, Jackie Ashaba who has been an instructor with FRC for three years noted that: “As an instructor, I would have set the exam differently.” She added that the learners are complaining that the exam is hard. On a positive note, she said that the exam was good because it was set in the local language which makes it easier for the learners.

Manzabayo Cyprian has been a Swahili instructor with FRC for three years now. Had this to say: “When we used to set our own exams and share them with the adult education officers, they would change some words which would confuse the learners, but at least with this exam, the learners easily understand the Swahili”. He said that “according to [Encyclopaedia] Britannica, Kiswahili has about 15 dialects and pidgins from Kenya, Tanzania and Congo. Some words used in the dialects are different, which makes it hard for one to understand if a word is translated into another dialect.”

He went on to add that “the only problem we have seen is with numeracy. The learners were happy with the dictation part. The learners saw numeracy as “new things”. He further noted that “the learners were initially afraid of being supervised by different instructors and not the ones that they are used to, but when we explained to them that we are also instructors with other groups they were able to trust us and sit for the exam.”

Kamugisha Paddy, an instructor from Nkasja A, in Kyaka refugee settlement, says that the learners found the exam challenging. “This exam of today has been quite difficult, and it is different from exams which we have been administering, because initially, the exams came in envelopes, and the learners feared because it’s as if they were sitting for Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) assessment, which is the body responsible for setting final exams for primary and secondary levels in Uganda. Then when we opened the envelope. We started dictation. They tried to write, but they feared dictation because as new learners, they have not mastered spelling. It disturbed them very much, but they tried, and I hope they will pass.”

Challenges faced during the standardization of the exams

Like every beginning, the road was not smooth, and there have been hurdles along the way, including the following:

• Inadequate availability of learning space. Some participants learn under a tree, while those with shelter usually have small spaces that do not afford much space to learners during the exam. Because of the cramped space, some learners were assisting each other during exams.
• Swapping instructors was difficult in some locations because there was a mis-match of language groups. Sometime the instructor was not fluent in the language of the learners. This compromised exam delivery.
• Mothers with babies were distracted by the babies and could not concentrate on writing the exams. It was necessary to extend then exam time so that these learners could complete the exam.
• Groups that included learners with disabilities took longer to write the exam than the recommended three hours.
• Food and cash distribution in some settlements affected the timely sitting of exams. Not all learners were available at the same time.
• Special arrangements had to be put in place to cater for those that missed the exam.

Despite the mixed reception to the standardized exam, this marks the beginning of a new era.

The key objective of the programme is to improve the quality of learning and increase the number of graduates annually, while promoting the resilience of refugees through functional adult literacy.

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