Uganda's Exam Results Arrive by Radio — Epoche A2
Subject How one family in Kampala received the results of the Primary Leaving Examination, the national test that Ugandan pupils sit at the end of primary school. Background The examination covers four subjects: English, mathematics, science and social studies. Results are not posted to each home. They are released for the whole country at once, read out on radio, printed in newspapers and checked by text message. What happened Early morning: the radio in the kitchen carries the announcement. Neighbours turn their radios up. The road outside is quiet in a way it usually is not. Mid-morning: the boy's aunt sends a text message with his number and waits. Two other households send messages for him as well, without being asked. Later: the family walks to the school, where the list is on the wall. People read it aloud for those at the back. Observation The news is public before it is private. The boy learned his own result while standing in a crowd, and the crowd learned it with him. Conclusion Elsewhere, exam results are a letter between a school and one family. Here they are an event with a sound. People say that a child belongs to the whole village; on results day the village gets the news together, and carries it home together.