Improved performance to push up S5 cut-off points

Traditional academic powerhouses in the country are set to raise cut-off points for students joining Senior Five this year due to a slightly better performance in last year’s O-Level examinations. 

This will definitely create stiffer competition for bright students by the top academic giants.

However, schools in rural areas that, on the whole, performed worse than those in urban areas, are primed to lower the bar as they seek to attract more students.

Last year, Kings College Budo set the stiffest entry points, with boys required to have Aggregate 10 from the eight best subjects and Aggregate 11 for girls.

Mt St Mary’s Namagunga had the same cut-off points for girls. St Mary’s College, Kisubi is likely to raise the bar from Aggregate 12 in last year’s admission to Aggregate 11, a staff at the school, who preferred anonymity, told this newspaper. 

Mr Julius Opasso, the head teacher of Teso College Aloet, said for one to get admitted in Senior Five, he or she must have scored either a first or second grade.

“What matters is whether one has a combination to qualify to be admitted.

Some [candidates] may have got first grades in O-Level, but with weak grades in sciences, while others will have got first grades with strong grades in sciences and those are things we shall look at because we are a science-oriented school,” Mr Opasso explained.  

According to UCE results released by Uganda Examination Board (Uneb) on Thursday, there was improvement in performance in the large entry subjects except in History, Agriculture and Physics.

However, as it has been over the years, there was poor performance  in science subjects, with less than 20 percent of candidates obtaining credit pass levels in Physics and Chemistry, and 40 percent or more unable to pass the science subjects.

This was largely blamed on shortage of science teachers, inability by learners to master the basic scientific concepts, lack of practical teaching, inability to manipulate science apparatus and carry out procedures.

A total of 329,939  candidates out of the 361,695  who sat for UCE at 3,808  centres passed between Division One to Division Four (95.9 percent) compared to 329,939 (95.4 percent ) in 2022.

Some 64,782 candidates passed in Division One, compared to 46,667 candidates who passed in the same division in 2022.

While Uneb says any candidate obtaining Divisions One to Four has passed the exams, many schools prefer to admit mostly students with Divisions One and Two, with some stretching to Division Three, while a few, mostly rural and private secondary schools, take in those with Division Four.

This means such candidates may not be able to join any post-secondary institutions that consider a minimum of a certificate in O-Level exams, but can enrol in vocational schools.

At least 14,879 candidates completely failed the exams compared to 15,756 candidates in 2023, indicating that the failure rate has dropped by 0.5 percent.

Like it is usually done, full details of the cut-off points will be known at the end of a two-day selection process scheduled to take place at Uganda Manufacturers’ Association (UMA)-Hall, Lugogo in Kampala between February 26 and 27.

Mr Erasmus Kanyerezi, the head teacher of Kinuuka Seed School, Lyantonde District, said they will maintain last year’s cut-off points by admitting candidates who passed from first and fourth grades.

“For us we admit even those students who are seen as academically weak and we bring the best out of them,” he said. 

At Bweranyangi Girls School in western Uganda, Ms Juliet Muzoora Atuhairwe, the head teacher, said they are likely to maintain their cut-off at Aggregate 21 which was the same last year. 

“We might maintain the same cut-off points though we will be guided by the ministry. We performed very well because we had 310 girls who sat for S.4 and 274 girls came in division one, 36 girl came in Division Two,” she said 

The selection exercise is usually attended by head teachers of government institutions and private schools that are in partnership with the government in implementing the Universal Secondary Education programme.

Private schools, technical institutes, farm schools and community polytechnics that applied to participate in placement admission exercise also attend. Eligible Senior Five entrants will report to school on March 11. 

2023 Senior Five cut-off points for selected schools

Compiled by Al Mahdi Ssenkabirwa, Felix Ainebyoona & Simon Emwamu 
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