Over 6,000 pupils fail promotional exams
Poor structures. Pupils of Nyakabwe Primary School in Rugendabara Parish, Kitswamba Sub-county in Kasese District in a grass thatched classroom in 2018. PHOTO BY ENID NINSIIMA
What you need to know:
- The District Education Officer, Mr George Mayinja, tasked head teachers and proprietors of private schools to double their efforts and desist from aiding examination malpractice.
More than 6,000 pupils in Kasese District have failed the 2019 district promotional examinations for entry into Primary Five, Six and Seven.
The district introduced examinations in 2015 with an objective of ensuring quality education and improving academic performance.
The pupils, in the respective classes, were examined by the Kasese District Academic Committee (KADAC).
Mr Ernest Bwambale Thabugha, the District Principal Inspector of Schools, said they registered 14,541 pupils but only 9,162 passed in Division One to Four.
Mr Thabugha said 5,107 pupils were ungraded and 272 missed the examinations.
About 63 per cent of Primary Four pupils were promoted to Primary Five and the rest have been advised to repeat classes.
A total of 288 primary schools participated in the exams.
According to KADAC, the Primary Seven entry examinations registered 11,189 pupils, where 74 per cent of the Primary Six pupils who were promoted.
About 5,107 pupils failed Primary Five, 4,534 failed Primary Six while 2,807 pupils failed the Primary Seven entry examinations.
Mr Thabugha said Kasese District registered an improvement in performance in the recently released 2019 Primary Leaving Examinations compared to 2018.
About 629 pupils passed in Division One while 11,387 candidates qualified for enrolment in any post primary institution having garnered grades one, two, three and four.
The District Education Officer, Mr George Mayinja, tasked head teachers and proprietors of private schools to double their efforts and desist from aiding examination malpractice.
“Examination malpractice normally happens because some head teachers sleep on the job”, said Mr Mayinja.
The District Vice Chairperson, Mr Gideon Sanyu Ntabose, said more inspections are needed in schools to guide the teachers on how to make the learners excel. “The number of the failures, the ungraded pupils is high, head teachers need to forge a way forward,” he said.
Reasons for failure
Government in 2018 attributed poor performance in primary schools to teachers’ absenteeism especially in rural areas.
State minister for primary education Rosemary Seninde also highlighted poor attitude of parents and learners.
was also responsible for the highest failure rates in rural areas explaining that such children are not given lunch at school.
