Verdict: False
A photo showing pupils writing exams while seated on the ground in an open field has gone viral again on Ugandan social media as the 2025 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) take place.
The photo is being shared on different social media platforms like Tiktok with claims that it depicts the poor state of Uganda’s education system. One of the posts claimed that this had happened this years 2025 and that the photo was taken from Buyende District. The claim is false.
The same image has circulated in past examination seasons, often used by political commentators and social media users to criticize government investment in education. Despite repeated fact-checks disproving the claim, the photo keeps resurfacing during national exams.
A detailed review by 211 Check, a digital fact-checking platform, found that the image does not originate from Uganda. A Google reverse image search traced it to Holy Cross Comboni Primary School in Yirol, South Sudan, where the school’s Facebook page first published it in May 2022. The post clearly identifies the school and location, confirming the photo’s South Sudanese origin.
Uganda Wired also independently verified this finding and found no evidence linking the photo to any school or examination center in Uganda.
The post on @maankelectronics2 gained significant traction, drawing over 14,100 likes, 6,347 shares, and more than 1,000 comments. The high engagement shows how quickly misinformation spreads and shapes public opinion once shared on popular social platforms.
The continued recycling of this South Sudan photo highlights a persistent pattern of misinformation targeting Uganda’s education sector, especially during national exams.
The claim that the viral photo shows Ugandan pupils taking exams outdoors is false.
