Fact-check: This photo showing pupils doing exams in an open space isn’t from Uganda

The photo was taken in Yirol County of Lakes State, South Sudan.

Writer: Ochaya Jackson

A post shared on X (formerly Twitter) with a picture of learners doing exams in the open air supposedly taken in Uganda is false. 

“I have been made to understand that these are learners, and they are doing an exam here. Oh, Uganda! May God uphold thee, We lay our future in thy hand. United, free, for liberty together, we’ll always stand,” reads the post by the X user.  

The screenshot of the X post claims

The author of the post did not establish the name or location of the school but quoted part of the Ugandan national anthem. 

Similarly, in another post, the author whose bio suggests that they are a show host based in Western Uganda, also shared the image claiming he’d been informed that the learners in the photo were in ‘primary seven’ which is when candidates typically sit for exams as they finish their primary level in Uganda. 

A school in Uganda, Busede Seed Senior Secondary School, also shared the same photo here with a statement calling on African leaders to unite and address their problems.

Claim Verification:

211 Check ran a Google reverse image search on the photo claim, and it returned Facebook pages that had shared the photo before. Among them is a Facebook post by Holy Cross Comboni Primary School, Yirol, South Sudan which shared the photo in May 2022. 

The image features on the Facebook page as its cover photo. 

The formerly Juba-based television station, JBS, also shared on its Facebook page in April 2023 about pupils at Holy Cross Comboni Primary School in Yirol County of Lakes State in South Sudan when they were writing their exams using the same photo. 

Besides, 211 Check contacted Mr Malek Arol Dhieu, a former teacher at Holy Cross Comboni Primary School, for comment concerning the photo claim, to which he confirmed our findings. 

“Yes, I can confirm the photo was taken from Holy Cross Comboni Primary School in Yirol, but it is old. The building in the background of the photo is a classroom block for the primary one. The pupils were sitting for the exam outside because the class could not accommodate them all, and [also] to avoid exam malpractices,” said Malek.

Conclusion:

The photo showing pupils sitting for exams in an open school compound was taken in South Sudan, not Uganda, as the claim referenced. Holy Cross Comboni Primary School is in Yirol, Lakes State.

This fact check was published by 211 Check with technical support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck newsdesk through the African Fact-Checking Alliance (AFCA).

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