I find the current system of grading schools unfair and misleading

Last week, the Uganda National Examination Board (Uneb) released another set of examination results, and as has been the norm, the newspapers gave their grading. What perturbs me is the method used for grading, merely percentage in Division 1. I saw one school which sat 6 candidates, passed 4 in Division 1, and at 67 per cent, was ranked among the top schools.

Soon we are going to see a school sitting two candidates, both passing in division 1, and being ranked No1 in the country because they got 100 per cent. It certainly is not fair to say because one school got 100 per cent with its two candidates, it performed better than another which had 99 per cent with 135 candidates. I think it is time for mathematicians to help us with a better formula, which recognises numbers, because it certainly takes greater effort to pass higher numbers.

Many parents do not even realise that these positions are manipulated by some schools for commercial reasons. In the same lists, I saw a school coming third at 97 per cent only to see its annex in a much lower position at 62 per cent.

These are schools that transfer the less brilliant students to other centres just before final exams. I don’t know whether Uneb registers these as annex students but this practice needs to be checked by the examination board as soon as possible.

J. Lwasa,
Kampala