A-Level results

L-R: Ezra Kisaakye 1ABA3 (BCM/ICT), Jeremiah Wanyama 2ABA2 PCM/ ICT, Dennis Ayebare 1AAB2 PCM/ICT, Abel Bunge 1BBA1 BCM/ICT, Dennis Obyero 2AAA1 BCM/ICT, Geoffrey Mpala 1ABA2 BCM/ICT and Edwin Kitaka BCM/ICT 1BBA3 of Turkish Light Academy jubilate upon receiving their results. PHOTO BY FAISWAL KASIRYE

What you need to know:

The remaining percentage can be admitted to other tertiary institutions.

KAMPALA- Sixty per cent of the candidates who sat last year’s Senior Six examinations qualified to join university, according to the results released by the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) yesterday.

Releasing the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education examination results, Uneb executive secretary Mathew Bukenya said 59.8 per cent scored the minimum two principal passes required for university admission. This means that out of 107,297 who sat the examinations, 64,132 candidates can continue to university.

If other tertiary institutions, which consider one principal pass and two subsidiary passes for admission take their students, the number of candidates going for tertiary education will increase to 87,826 (81.9 per cent) compared to 88,975 (77.8 per cent) in 2013.

“Overall performance in 2014 UACE examinations shows that a very high percentage of candidates (98.4 per cent) qualified for award of the UACE compared to 97.4 per cent in 2013,” Mr Bukenya said yesterday at the Ministry of Education headquarters.

Although there is universal education, the number of candidates sitting examinations reduced by 7,771. A total of 108,419 candidates registered for the 2014 examinations compared to 116,190 in the previous year, 2013.

Of the 108,419 candidates, 23,308 registered under Post-O-Level Education and Training Programme (Upolet).
Education minister Jessica Alupo directed the ministry’s permanent secretary to investigate the circumstances that have caused this decline in the number of students who sat last year’s Senior Six examinations.
Fewer girls failed (427) compared to their male counterparts where 1,326 got F grade (failure).

The girls outperformed boys at the A-E score level in History, Economics, Islamic Religious Education, Christian Education, Geography and Literature in English. They also did better in General Paper and Subsidiary Mathematics. However, male candidates beat the girls in science subjects.

Mr Bukenya observed that although Mathematics and core sciences were made compulsory since 2004 in lower secondary education, the numbers don’t translate into higher enrolment on science subjects at the Advanced Level.

For instance, he said that only 20 per cent of the candidates who sat UACE in 2014 offered Mathematics, Physics had 14.4per cent, Chemistry 11.5per cent while Biology was taken by 12.3 per cent. A large portion of these did not obtain a principal pass.

The Uneb chairperson, Prof Mary Okwakol, warned that if government doesn’t rethink its strategy of compulsory sciences, the objective to transform the economy is bound to fail.

“I am worried that despite the improved performance in science, numbers of candidates taking sciences and Mathematics has continued to be low. Government may need to consider some strategy to increase intake of students for science combinations. Otherwise the policy of compulsory sciences at Uganda Certificate of Education will not translate into large numbers of science students at UACE,” Prof Okwakol said.

But Ms Alupo assured her that government has invested $5.1 million (about Shs12.8 billion) to procure digital science content designed in line with the requirements of National Curriculum Development Centre and expects that the performance in sciences will improve.

At least 1,037 schools have benefited with ICT laboratories and science kits to simplify science concepts.

The number of candidates found in exam malpractice increased from 34 caught in 2013 to 173 in last year’s UACE. The most cases were reported in Lunar International School, Buyende (formerly part of Kamuli) Giants College in Luweero and Nsambya Hillside High School in Wakiso.

Although Uneb reported that a number of schools showed good quality work, it added that others still needed to improve.

For example, there were candidates who showed lack of understanding of basic concepts, lacked maturity of thought expected at this level, listing points when descriptions or explanations required, giving generalised answers and failing to understand key words that define the tasks in the questions.

“There is over reliance on class notes and poorly written pamphlets, and lack of independent research by students. Poor communication skills continue to affect the candidates’ ability to express themselves,” Mr Bukenya said.