S.1 cut-off points to rise as selection starts today

With slight improvement in last year’s Primary Leaving Examination results, top schools are expected to raise entry marks as head teachers start selection.

Primary Seven leavers will by Friday know their fate after secondary school head teachers and college principals meet to select candidates who meet the requirements to join their schools.

According to Mr Francis Agula, the assistant commissioner secondary education in the Ministry of Education, about 2,000 head teachers from h private and government-aided schools will converge at Wonder World Kasanga, a Kampala suburb for the two-day exercise.

He said the cut-off points for individual schools would increase depending on the level of performance and the number of applicants interested in joining the institution.

“But this will be minimal. Some will remain the same while others will improve,” Mr Agula said on phone yesterday.

An analysis done by the Daily Monitor using the Uganda National Examinations Board 2012 Primary Leaving Examinations results, shows that top schools from urban areas will continue to enjoy slots in schools with good facilities because they attained better grades compared to their counterparts in rural centres.

Mr Mathew Bukenya, the Uneb executive secretary, reported a 2 per cent improvement in last year’s PLE compared to 2011, which posted 86.4 per cent.

“Until economically and socially all places are balanced with resources, this will continue to be a dream for students in rural settings. The disparities will continue to increase unless the resources are equally distributed,” Mr Agula noted.

A total of 480,067 candidates passed last year’s exams, scoring between 4 to 28 aggregates. Those selected for S1 are expected to report on Feb 18.

Past experience, according to Mr Agula, has shown that candidates with reasonably good aggregates fail to gain admission into schools of their choices.

The main reason is that the students select only popular schools like Kisubi, Mwiri, Ntare, Budo, Namagunga, Tororo Girls Mary Hill, Makerere College and Gayaza in that order.

He explains that such schools always have a big number of applicants which stiffens the competition. Mr Agula advises that if the first choice is popular, the subsequent three other choices should be less competitive.

pahimbisibwe@ug.nationmedia.com