More students apply for vocational studies – UBTEB
An official from Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board gives guidelines to supervisors and invigilators of the modularised assessment and examinations at the Public Health and Nurses College in Kyambogo, Kampala on Saturday. PHOTO/STEPHEN OTAGE.
What you need to know:
- The first set of 30,369 students will be assessed under the modularised assessment in line with the implementation of the Technical Vocational Education and Training policy reforms and the third national development plan recommendations.
The Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board (UBTEB) has called for research into the sudden increase in the number of students enrolling for vocational education.
Addressing journalists on Saturday, Mr Onesmus Oyesigye, the executive secretary, said the 53,765 candidates sitting for the competence-based assessment and examinations beginning today is the highest number the board has ever registered and over the years, the number of students joining vocational schools has been increasing.
“We are seeing an increase in numbers, especially for the July series. It has never been like this. Remember the admissions are no longer here in Kampala alone, they are done in regional centres,” he said.
He added that despite putting the cut-off points at aggregates 19, they could not absorb all those who applied for different courses.
Asked whether they are satisfied with the quality of skills the students are getting from the vocational schools, Mr Oyesigye said they are aware that the vocational schools are poorly equipped and that is the reason they have many partnerships with the private sector companies to place the students for internship because they have better facilities.
He said whenever the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) releases results, there is a need to follow the number of students that drop out from Primary Seven, Senior Four and Six, meaning those need to be skilled.
Mr Oyesigye said the examinations, which start today, will run until August 19.
The first set of 30,369 students will be assessed under the modularised assessment in line with the implementation of the Technical Vocational Education and Training policy reforms and the third national development plan recommendations.
The candidates to be assessed include those doing the higher and national technical vocational programmes, physical, biological and agricultural sciences, business and humanities and national certificate and technical modular programmes.
Other programmes include cosmetology, catering and engineering and the board has deployed 57 personnel for persons with special needs.
