The tradition of wishing candidates success in examinations through cards bearing messages of encouragement and prayers is increasingly being overshadowed by expensive gifts, including cash, smartphones and other valuables, raising concerns about inequality, distraction and unhealthy relationships among learners.
Teachers, parents and education leaders warn that what began as a simple gesture of goodwill is gradually turning into a display of wealth, with some candidates comparing what they receive from their parents, friends and romantic partners.
They say the practice risks creating psychological pressure among learners from less privileged families, while expensive gifts exchanged between school-going boyfriends and girlfriends raise questions about parental supervision, school discipline and the values being imparted to children.
Mr Filbert Baguma, the secretary general of the Uganda National Teachers Union (Unatu), said the practice had grown beyond its original purpose and requires clear regulation by the Ministry of Education and Sports.
‘The issue is regulating some of the acts. Some of those issues start small, but are not regulated. They end up being exaggerated. And that is where the problem is,’ he said.
Mr Baguma said success cards, which initially cost about Shs 1,500, have evolved to include musical messages and, increasingly, expensive gifts that risk distorting the meaning of wishing candidates success.
‘They improved and they have those with music,’ he said.
‘Then they improved and over time, it has now grown out of shape. That’s how the others outside the parents, outside the siblings, are now taking advantage to exploit the learners, especially the girls.’
Mr Baguma said the public display of gifts creates an environment in which learners compare what they receive, potentially making those from poorer households feel less loved or valued.
‘When the learners are in the school setting, once they start seeing what others are receiving, because those who receive with pride, they share with their colleagues. And show, ‘This is what my boyfriend has sent, this is what my parents have sent’,’ he said.
He added that some parents were also caught up in the desire to raise the standard of gifts, despite the different financial circumstances of families.
‘The children from poor and average families will find it difficult, and it will even affect them psychologically. You feel as if you are not loved, when even the parents are struggling to raise school fees,’ Mr Baguma said.
He warned that such comparisons could affect candidates’ concentration and examination performance, particularly when learners begin measuring affection by the value of presents.
Ms Irene Nansubuga, a teacher, said giving candidates gifts was not inherently wrong because parents naturally wanted to celebrate their children’s educational milestones and motivate them to perform well.
However, she said the practice becomes problematic when parents turn it into a competition to demonstrate who can afford the most expensive presents.
‘As a parent, we have made it extravagant to an extent that we forget about the value of education and then we go to this extent of showing who is better than the other,’ she said.
Ms Nansubuga warned that repeatedly exposing children to expensive possessions could give them an inflated sense of importance and make them look down on their peers.
‘It is not about the gift you give at the last moment. It is about the value of life you have been educating this child, and educating the values of education to the children, that can push this child to the highest level she may wish to go.’
Ms Oliver Taremwa, a parent of a Primary Seven candidate, said the trend was increasingly becoming a form of showing off, fueled by social pressure among parents and children.She said parents should distinguish between celebrating their children’s achievements and making expensive gifts an expected reward for academic success.
‘We appreciate that parents are supposed to appreciate their children, show them that they are happy. But when we go to how we start dealing with children, the whole thing is that there is a lot of social pressure,’ she said.
Ms Taremwa cautioned against making promises that tie children’s academic effort to material rewards, saying such arrangements could encourage an expectation that every achievement must be compensated with an expensive item.
She urged parents to discuss their children’s aspirations with them and prioritize gifts and investments that contribute to their long-term development rather than possessions meant to impress others.
‘Let us sit down with our children and show them that the future is brighter when you live within your limits,’ she said.
Ms Taremwa said she was particularly concerned about expensive gifts exchanged between school-going romantic partners, warning that parents needed to establish who was giving the gifts, where the money came from and whether the exchange carried expectations.
‘Do you know how that money is coming? Do you know the package it will come with? So let us not tie our children into these things,’ she said.
She added that schools could help by setting clear procedures for delivering success cards, noting that some institutions already require parents to submit cards through the school office and distribute them on designated days.
Candidates feel the pressure
For some learners, the growing emphasis on expensive gifts has created a sense of competition and exclusion.
Reagan Kimbugwe, a Senior Six candidate at Kisowera Secondary School, said conversations about gifts could leave students who received nothing feeling less valued than their classmates.
‘Sometimes it feels like a competition, especially when candidates start talking about what their parents, friends or boyfriends and girlfriends have bought for them,’ he said.
He said some parents promise their children smartphones or money if they pass their examinations, while others display the gifts they have received, making it difficult for learners from less privileged families to avoid comparisons.
‘Honestly, you can feel disappointed, especially when you see your friends receiving things you have always wanted. You may begin wondering why your parents cannot afford the same things,’ Kimbugwe said.
However, he acknowledged that families had different financial circumstances and urged candidates not to judge their parents by what they could afford.
He also warned that gifts could distract learners when they became more concerned about the rewards awaiting them than their preparation.On gifts exchanged between school-going romantic partners, Kimbugwe said some learners wanted to make their partners happy, while others feared being compared with rivals or appearing less committed if they could not afford expensive presents.
‘I think this can create unnecessary pressure because love should not be measured by the amount of money someone spends on you,’ he said.
He urged candidates to focus on their examinations and embrace inexpensive gestures such as handwritten messages, helping friends revise and offering words of encouragement.
Schools urged to protect concentrationMr Francis Buyondo, the headteacher of Sir Apollo Kaggwa Primary School in Nakasero, said the display of expensive gifts could distract candidates and undermine the principle of inclusion in schools.
He said learners were likely to notice what their classmates received, creating pressure both among those who received expensive gifts and those who did not.
‘School meant to be inclusive. So these candidates, those parents have to be able to reach that level,’ he said, referring to the difficulties families face when expensive gifts become the standard against which children compare themselves.
Mr Baguma adds that schools alone could not adequately address the problem without a common national standard.
‘Actually, the guidelines should come from the ministry. You see, when they are school-based, it will not solve the problem. Because it should be a standard guideline and then the schools should follow the standard guidelines,’ he said.
He also questioned how expensive gifts and sealed envelopes were allowed into schools when parents and other visitors were subject to restrictions.
‘If you are saying for me to visit my child I should come with a card at the school gate, why should you allow these other boyfriends and others to access my child during the period towards the exam?’ he asked.
‘The card should not be a secret, there should be a system to see if you are sending a success card, schools must know what is entering under the guise of success cards.’
Ministry yet to set standard rules
The debate comes amid the absence of specific Ministry of Education and Sports regulations governing the exchange of expensive success gifts among candidates.
In 2024, the State Minister for Higher Education, Mr John Chrysostom Muyingo, defended parents’ freedom to motivate their children during examinations, saying the period was an opportunity to encourage learners in different ways.
‘Some people organize parties, and others give their children money. I have no problem with it, just because some other person cannot afford it,’ Mr Muyingo said at the time.Education stakeholders say the challenge is to preserve the goodwill behind success cards while preventing the practice from becoming a source of financial pressure, social exclusion or inappropriate exchanges among learners.
They argue that encouragement can be expressed through prayers, handwritten messages, academic support and reassurance, without requiring parents to compete financially or learners to prove affection for their unhealthy relationships through expensive presents.
The central concern, they say, is ensuring that candidates enter the examination room confident in their preparation and supported by their families, regardless of their economic background or the gifts they receive.