KAMPALA.
The two -day selection exercise of learners joining Senior One has officially kicked off today , Thursday at Lugogo Multipurpose Hall in Kampala.
This marking a critical transition for thousands of candidates who sat the 2025 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE).
Across the country, parents and candidates are closely monitoring the exercise as traditional “big schools” adjust their cut-off points.
Some institutions have raised their entry aggregates following strong national performance trends, while others have slightly lowered them to fill available vacancies.
Cut-off points are typically influenced by overall national performance and the capacity of individual schools.
In years where results are generally strong, competition for places in top-tier schools intensifies, pushing aggregates higher.
Conversely, schools with unfilled slots may adjust downward to attract sufficient numbers.
Last year, traditional giants from Kampala and the metropolitan areas maintained a competitive cutoff point with Aggregate 8 as the benchmark.
They included St Mary’s College ,Kisubi (5), Kings College ,Budo (5), Gayaza High School(6), Makerere College (7 and 8), Nabisunsa Girls School (7), Mt St Mary’s Namagunga (7) , Kitende SS (5 and 7), Ntare School (7), Trinity College ,Nabbingo (6), Kawempe Muslim SS (7 and 8), and Kibuli SS (6 and 7) .
The selection process is designed to ensure merit-based placement, particularly in government-aided traditional schools and other highly sought-after institutions.
Education authorities say the exercise aims to provide transparency and fairness in allocating limited placements .
However, critics argue that the system often appears skewed toward elite and high-performing schools, leaving average-performing learners facing uncertainty during placement.
While some prestigious institutions maintain strict selection criteria, many private secondary schools are open to admitting learners who meet the basic pass requirements, provided parents can afford the tuition and related costs.
That flexibility offers relief to families whose children may not have attained top aggregates, but remain determined to continue their education.
At the same time, some schools — both government and private — still decline learners with weaker grades, citing performance benchmarks and limited capacity.