Uganda National Examinations Board has this Friday afternoon released the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), with 2,559 being withheld as result of reported assistance to the candidates by teachers.
According to UNEB Board Chairperson Professor Mary Okwakol, there was a 90% increase of pupils passing the PLE, compared to 87% last year.
She added that this year boys performed better than girls, with 32, 120 boys getting First Grade, against 25, 078 girls, while total enrollment stood at 312, 695 for boys and 333, 494 for girls, bringing the cumulative total to 646,189 pupils.
Further, according to Prof. Okwakol, there was increased poor performance by schools from parts of Eastern Uganda districts like Kween, Bukwo, Tororo, Kayunga, Mbale, Badaka, Buvuma and some central districts like Kayunga and Buvuma.
The best performing districts were Kampala with 7,745 candidates in first division, followed by Wakiso with 4,370 in first division, Kiira Municipality with 1,881, Nansana municipality, Mbarara Municipality, Mukono Municipality, Masaka Municipality and Rakai district.
In her speech the Minister of State for Primary Education Rosemary Sseninde noted teacher absenteeism is the major cause of the difference in performance between rural and urban schools.
She also noted that poor attitude of parents and pupils had led to an increase in failure rates in the rural areas.
“Children are not given food in village schools like their counterparts in urban centers which makes learning on empty stomach difficult hence the cause for failure,” Sseninde said.
The Minister for Education Janet Kataha Museveni decried the increase in examinations malpractice and emphasized that there are plans to amend the UNEB Act, to hold those culpable to account.
The Minister also revealed that the selection of Senior One students will take place on January 24 and 25 at UMA show grounds.
