Improved performance as females post better results

The Uganda National Examinations Board reported an improved performance in last year’s Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education, with girls posting better results.

Out of 111,456 candidates who registered for the 2012 exams released yesterday, 109,974 sat for the exams compared to 102,296 who sat in 2011. According to Mr Mathew Bukenya, the Uneb executive secretary, there was a lower failure rate, which has been declining over the years.

At the two-principal pass level, which is the minimum consideration for admission to tertiary institutions, overall performance was better than 2011; 69.4 per cent passed compared to 64 per cent in 2011. Further, female candidates registered a slightly lower failure rate. However, male candidates performed better than the females at the three-principal level.

Weaknesses revealed
There was improvement in principal level passes in History, Entrepreneurship, Geography, Literature, Chemistry and Biology, while Economics, Christian Religious Education, Islamic Religious Education, Mathematics, Physics and Agriculture dropped. Although the core sciences and Mathematics are compulsory at O-Level, the transition to A-Level is still low.

Mr Bukenya said even for these, nearly 50 per cent of the candidates were unable to obtain a principal pass. For instance, 24.5 per cent of the candidates offered Mathematics, Physics (17.3), Chemistry (10.5) and only 10 per cent did Biology. “The level of performance, coupled with the low entries for these subjects will have a negative impact on the country’s manpower needs in science and technology,” Mr Bukenya said.

Although majority of UACE candidates offer Arts subjects, there was increased candidature recorded in Mathematics and Physics at 20 per cent, Chemistry and Biology at 14 and two per cent respectively.

Like in the past, Mr Bukenya said some students lacked communication skills and had not completed the syllabus, which has affected their performance. “The ability of candidates to interprete questions and pick out the key words in those questions was also affected by the problem of language,” he said.

Uneb said there was evidence of ‘spotting,’ where candidates prepared for particular questions from certain areas of the curriculum.
The results of 404 candidates were withheld to allow investigations into alleged exam malpractice.

Mr Bukenya explained that the management of Lugogo Hall, one of the affected centres, will be suspended and an interim board be put as investigations are concluded.

Mr Fagil Mandy, the Uneb chairperson, said any head teacher and invigilator found to have assisted a candidate in exam malpractice would be deregistered. “We have agreed with the ministry and we are not going to stop. A teacher caught involving in ways exposing a student to danger, like exam malpractice, we will take away their certificate,” Mr Mandy said.

Education Minister Jessica Alupo asked for a reduction on the number of assessment tests administered to students in order to create time to complete the syllabus. “There is beginning of term, mid-term, end of term and numerous mocks. After this a teacher has to find time to mark these exams. This translates to nine weeks of no teaching, thus the inability of schools to complete the syllabus,” she said.