Dr. Monica B Chibita, one of Uganda's media scholars is now a full professor. She on Friday delivered delivered her professorial inaugural lecture at a full packed Nkoyoyo hall at Uganda Christian University where she is the head of the Journalism and Communication Department.
Schools like Kabojja Junior School where parents last year petitioned UNEB citing under marking, had 205 in Division one of which 19 scored aggregates four. In 2018, the school had no candidate with aggregate 4.
According to the 2019 results, out of 301 who sat for the exams, only two candidates were in Division 1, 147 in Division II. In 2018, the district was among the worst performers in the sub-region with only one candidate in Division 1.
The PLE results released on Friday show Soroti had 344 candidates in Division one, representing followed by Kumi with 270 candidates. Bukedea district was third with 159 candidates in first grade while Ngora district with 3.2% children in first grade.
UNEB Executive Secretary Dan Odongo notes that it has been a perennial challenge for many schools. For instance, Odongo says, both English and Mathematics performance was poor in questions where candidates were required to apply knowledge in problem-solving situations or express themselves freely.
Data obtained from Uganda National Examinations Board shows that Amudat district registered the lowest number of first grades in the country, with only two, out of 301 candidates scoring aggregates in the first grade. Last year, only one candidate passed in Division One in the whole district.
Up to 56 candidates sat for PLE at the centre. Of these, 31, attained aggregates in second grade, 19 were in third grade, four got fourth-grade aggregates, while two were ungraded (U). Six of the candidates who had registered at the centre were registered absent.
With the introduction of the SMS services which enable candidates get their results instantly on their mobile phones, schools seem reluctant to pick them from UNEB
The results released on Friday shows a total of 221 pupils scored first grade out of 3,605 pupils who sat within the municipality and district level. This is slightly higher than the numbers district registered in 2018 when only 153 pupils scored first grade.
According to Professor Suruma, education without compassion and integrity is not enough. He urged the graduands and citizens to start instilling values right from homes if they want a clean and fair society.
Dan Odongo, the UNEB executive secretary says that while examination malpractice cases have reduced, the rate at which those involved are presented in courts is slow and hindering the fight against examination malpractices.
Egau, currently an English teacher at Otuboi Primary School in Kalaki district had just lost her husband of 23 years to another woman, a graduate who made her feel like a nobody, a laughingstock. Her esteem had been washed down the drain.
Last year, UNEB introduced use of random numbers to identify examination centres instead of school names. Candidates were also given codes instead of district names.
The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) officials were silent on the cause of the drop. The possible explanation could be that more parents are choosing to take their pupils to private schools where it is assumed that they will pass well than in UPE schools.
UNEB Chairperson Prof. Mary Okwakol says that the cases of examination malpractice in school were supported by headteachers. “In some schools, scouts were even bribed to allow teachers to give candidates assistance," Okwakol said.
The UNEB Secretary General Dan Odongo said at least 7.6 per cent of the pupils managed either a distinction 1 or 2 in English while 14 per cent managed the same in SST. For Mathematics and Science, while the general performance improved, fewer learners managed a distinction at that level.
The Minister of Education and Sports Janet Kataha Museveni says that her Ministry faces a risk of not implementing activities worth Shillings 1.68 trillion in the coming financial year 2020/2021 in the face of the declining budget allocation and failure to secure more funding.
The Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni says that there is a need for a well-funded national project to sustain the provision of free sanitary pads to students across the country.
