Educationists call for enough provision of Basic Needs, Candidates Advise Get Enough Night Rest .

By Emmanuel Olinga
As the S4 candidates continue tackling the final UCE examinations on today, 15th October 2026, marking the fourth day, the authorities of St Martha Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Katakwi, have implored learners to have enough rest while parents are tasked with having role to provide necessary support.

Enough sleep is essential for a healthy lifestyle, medical experts recommend, for the length of a night's sleep ranging from 7 to 9 hours and 10 to 13 hours for children, depending on the age.

Sleep is an essential part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, vital for all age groups—from infants and children to older adults. Insufficient sleep has both short- and long-term effects. In the short term, we all feel tired and uncomfortable when we do not sleep enough. In the long term, experts have found that regular lack of sleep link to a reduction in overall health, but sleep is also essential for growth, physical and mental health, and cognitive functioning.

According to Benjamin Bosco Ojaramo, Head Teacher, St. Martha Comprehensive Secondary School, the effect of lack of sleep on brain function and emotions is emphasized, and the benefits of adequate sleep for improving mood and optimizing performance in school are highlighted. Hence, learners are told to have enough rest such that they can have refreshed mind such they can easily wake up in the morning in preparation for examinations.

Further, Ojamaramo encouraged the day scholar learners who travel from long distances to desist from too long revision at night in order to have enough sleep such that they can easy reach to school early with enough rest to sit for examinations.

However, he tasked the parents to guide, restrict unnecessary movements, and check them in the evening and morning for their safety but most importantly provide necessary support, especially provision of transport means and other basic needs, especially pads for girl children for any emergency.


Enough sleep is essential for a healthy lifestyle, medical experts recommend, for the length of a night's sleep ranging from 7 to 9 hours and 10 to 13 hours for children, depending on the age.

The effect of lack of sleep on brain function and emotions and the emphasis on the benefits of adequate sleep for improving mood and optimizing performance in school

Sleep is an essential part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, vital for all age groups—from infants and children to older adults. Insufficient sleep has both short- and long-term effects. In the short term, we all feel tired and uncomfortable when we do not sleep enough. In the long term, experts have found that regular lack of sleep is linked to a reduction in overall health, but sleep is essential for growth, physical and mental health, cognitive functioning.

A set of skills of the mind, as opposed to other types of skills such as motor skills. Some examples of cognitive function are logical reasoning, abstract thinking, and mental arithmetic and mood balance. Although sleep’s importance has been proven, lack of sleep is still a worldwide problem, especially for adolescents.

According to experts, migraines, allergies, and lung diseases such as asthma can damage the sleep cycle and cause sleep that is not refreshing. In puberty, kids often experience more anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, and these conditions may affect sleep as well.

Exposure to electronic devices right before bedtime, including televisions or smartphones, decreases the quality of sleep and leads to excessive sleepiness during the day. The use of screens can postpone bedtime, and the light emitted by electronic devices disrupts melatonin secretion. The result is shorter and lower-quality sleep.

Katakwi district has recorded approxietly 1,157 candidates sitting for the 2026 UCE examinations across the 15 secondary schools and the UNEB examination cycles will be running from October to December 2026.