
Headteachers from different secondary schools take part in the Senior One selection exercise at UMA multipurpose hall in Lugogo, Kampala City, yesterday. PHOTO | MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
Top schools across the country have lowered their Senior One admission cut-off points to accommodate more learners who sat for the 2024 Primary Leaving Examinations.
The heads of institutions said their move to relax the cut-off points was forced by the few number of students who scored distinctions in the recently released results.
“The number of learners who attained [the maximum score of] Aggregate 4 were very few in Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono. This prompted us to lower the cut-off points to Aggregate 5 to reach the number of learners we can accommodate,” said Mr Godfrey Atwine, the deputy head teacher of King’s College Budo.
King’s College Budo, one of the top traditional schools known for admitting only students with top scores, has taken learners with Aggregate 5 this year, compared to the cut off at Aggregate 4 last year.
Even then, not all learners who attained Aggregate 5 and applied to Budo have been admitted. The school has offered some 104 students with Aggregate 5 to other schools to absorb.
Mr Atwine said they have admitted 270 students, turning away other thousands who had opted for Budo as their first choice but did not attain the desired cut-off points.
Similarly, Gayaza High School also took in a few learners with Aggregate 6 and offered the majority of applicants to other schools. In 2023, Gayaza set Aggregate 5 as their cut-off point.
Other traditional schools that have lowered their cut-off points include Mary Hill High School, which reduced its cut-off points from Aggregate 5 to 6; St Henry’s College Kitovu from 6 to 7; Iganga Secondary School from 8 to 9; and Lubiri SS, which adjusted from 9 for girls, and 8 for boys to 10 for girls and 9 for boys.
Likewise, Mengo SS. and Ndejje SS. have lowered their cut-off points to Aggregate 7 for both boys and girls. Previously, they admitted boys with Aggregate 6 and 7 for girls.
Ntare School adjusted from Aggregate 6 to 7, while Tororo Girls lowered its cut-off from Aggregate 9 to 10.
Ms Collins Abalo, the Deputy Head Teacher of Tororo Girls School, attributed the drop in cut-off points to the general performance nationwide. The school, which has admitted 280 female students, noted a reduction in the number of distinctions among the 2024 PLE candidates.
Mr John Baptist Tumussime, the director of studies at St Henry’s College Kitovu in Masaka District, said they lowered their cut-off points because the majority of the students who opted for them as their first choice, scored between Aggregate 4 and 7.
Mr Suleman Sekayala, the deputy head teacher of Mengo SS, said they lowered the cut-off points for only girls because their performance was weaker compared to their male counterparts.
A total of 722,730 candidates passed the 2024 PLE and are expected to be placed in secondary schools, vocational institutes, or tertiary training institutions during the two-day selection exercise, which ends today.
A total of 786,981 candidates, with 413,122 females and 373,859 males, sat for the PLE.
The Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) reported that overall performance in 2024 was better than in 2023, with a higher pass rate of 91.8 percent compared to 88.0 percent in 2023.
However, the exams body noted a decline in the number of candidates obtaining Division One, which led to the lowering of cut-off points.
In terms of distinctions, 84,301 candidates scored in Division One, with 397,589 passing in Division Two, 165,284 in Division Three, and 75,556 in Division Four.
The candidates will be placed during today’s selection exercise.
The 2024 PLE results show that about 400 learners attained Aggregate 4 compared to over 700 who attained the same in 2023.
As a result, some traditional schools that typically set their cut-off points at Aggregate 4 could not meet their targets, prompting them to lower the admission points to accommodate more learners.
Cut-off points maintained
Despite several traditional schools lowering their cut-off points, some have maintained their admission standards.
Nabisunsa Girls' Secondary School kept its cut-off at Aggregate 7, Immaculate Heart at 6, and Bweranyangi Girls, Gombe SS, and Sacred Heart School Mushanga, all retaining Aggregate 8.
Others include St Peter’s SS Nsambya at 9, Katikamu SDA, Bishop High School Mukono, and Iganga High School, all maintaining their cut-off at Aggregate 12.
Nabisunsa Girls' careers master Ibrahim Ssendawula said they upheld their cut-off at Aggregate 7 due to the strong performance of their first-choice applicants.
“Whereas the performance at the distinction level was not very good, all the learners who chose us as their first option had better results. That is why we have taken more,” Mr Ssendawula said.
UPE and USE schools
First Lady and Education and Sports minister Janet Museveni yesterday warned schools against running unauthorised boarding sections.
In a statement read by the State Minister for Primary Education, Ms Joyce Kaducu, the minister indicated that President Museveni had directed the ministry to take action against government-aided primary and secondary schools that have been turned into boarding sections.
“The Ministry of Education will monitor the directive of President Museveni. We shall take stringent measures against those that will be implicated in the action,” Ms Museveni said in the statement.
She warned that the ministry would not entertain some schools that have converted libraries and laboratories into boarding facilities.
The minister also warned the schools against charging parents fees despite being government-aided.
MOE warns on selection
Heads of schools across the country have been instructed to follow the Ministry of Education’s guidelines for the ongoing Senior One selection exercise.
The Director of Education Standards, Ms Frances Atima, stated that the schools must admit all learners placed by the Uneb system.
She warned the schools against conducting interviews for Senior One students or demanding commitment fees from parents before their children join.
More than 722,000 learners who passed the 2024 PLE are expected to be selected during the ongoing exercise.
The chairperson of the Selection Committee, Dr Jane Egua, said the government can admit all the 722,000 learners who have passed the examinations.
Compiled by Damali Mukhaye, Jane Nafula, Pricilla Maloba, Geoffrey Mutumba, Shabibah Nakirigya, Karim Muyobo, Otage Stephen, Sylvia Namagembe , Maria Jacinta Kannyange, David Walugembe & Moses Ndaye