KAMPALA.
Traditional schools which usually perform well in national examinations have raised entry requirements for Senior Five entrants due to improved performance in last year’s Uganda Certificate of Education Examinations (UCE).
Results released by Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) on February 11 ,a total of 350,146 (98.05 percent) of 357,120 candidates who sat for the 2024 UCE exams under the new curriculum passed and qualify to join Senior Five.
During the two-day selection exercise at UMA Exhibition Hall, Kampala on Thursday, many top schools revealed that they will only absorb candidates who scored grade A in Arts subjects and those with grades A to C in science subjects.
According to the new Uneb grading system, A reflects exceptional performance, followed by B for outstanding, C for satisfactory, and D for basic performance, with E as the lowest grade and representing elementary achievement.
A candidate who gets grade A is considered as having scored a distinction ( 80-100 percent) under the older grading system , B is a pass with credit( 70 -79 percent) ,C is a pass with credit( 60 -69 percent) ,D is a pass ( 50-59 percent ) and E is a pass with a lower competency level ( 0-49 percent) .
Mr Ibrahim Ssendawula, a career guidance teacher at Nabisunsa Girls SS, said 180 students will be admitted with majority with As and only three scored C. Those pursuing science combinations, a student must have scored As and may be a B.
“The best candidate scored 8As and B . As a school , we are taking candidates with AAB for science combinations , we are also selling 200 students to other schools because our facilities can only accommodate 180 students ,” he said
He said 1,800 students had Nabisunsa as their first choice.
Mr Godfrey Kasamba, the deputy head teacher at Kings College, Budo said they are taking only candidates with grades A to B .
The 2024 results show the proportion of candidates scoring at the elementary level (below basic) was most significant in Physics, followed by Chemistry and English language, meaning the few who performed well are being competed for by top schools.
But schools in rural areas that, on the whole, performed poorly in contrast to their urban counterparts, have lowered the bar with some taking candidates who scored up to grade D .
All candidates who attained grades A to D in the nine subjects qualify for the UCE certificate.
Candidates who scored only Es in all the subjects offered don’t qualify to join Senior Five and these account for 6,974 of the total number of candidates who sat the exams.
The selection exercise closed on Friday(February 21) and eligible Senior Five entrants will report to school on March 3. In 2013, a total of 346,816 (95 percent) of 361,695 students who turned up for the 2023 UCE exams qualified to join the Senior Five. In 2022, a total of 329,939 of 345,695 students passed the UCE exams.
