The Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) has registered a generally better performance of candidates in the 2022 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations.
The failure rate has also dropped by 1.0 per cent. This was revealed by the Uneb executive director, Dan Odongo, during the release of the examination results at State House in Nakasero.
The 2022 UCE examinations were conducted between October 17 and November 18 under the theme "Integrity and Security in the management of examinations, the Health and Safety of Learners is a joint responsibility."
In 2022, at least 345,695 candidates (173,761 males and 171,934 females) sat for the examination compared to 330,592 candidates who appeared in 2020. This represents an increase of 15,103 (4.6%) candidates.
Odongo said although the candidates were taught under the abridged curriculum due to the impact of Covid-19 on learning time, how the bridging was done did not affect the content, knowledge, skills, and competencies that the candidates had to display in the examination. As such, the results of 2022 and those of 2020 are comparable.
"At division one, we have 46,667 (13.5%) of the candidates passing compared to 12.1% in the previous examination. Similarly, in division two, we have 76,745 (22.2%) candidates compared to 21.2% which gives us a cumulative percentage of 35.7% of the candidates getting a second grade and above. This is an improved performance," Odongo said.
The number of ungraded candidates (15,756) dropped from 5.6 per cent to 1.6 per cent. Uneb chairperson, Prof Mary Okwakol, noted that: "The pass levels indicate that more places will be required in post-UCE institutions to accommodate the large numbers of successful candidates." The selection for senior five is scheduled for February 23 and 24 at Lugogo UMA exhibition hall and reporting for A-level will be on March 6, 2022.
SUBJECT PERFORMANCE
Odongo observed an improvement in performance in the large entry compulsory subjects except in Christian Religious Education, Biology, and Commerce. Mathematics showed better performance at the distinction level but declined overall. English Language showed better performance with improvement at credit and overall pass levels but declined at the distinction level.
"Performance in Biology has continued to decline as seen in the last few years. It is worth noting that performance in Physics and Chemistry has improved, although the overall pass levels are still low. At least over 40% of the candidates have not passed these two subjects," he said.
The female candidates performed better than males in English Language. In Chemistry, the male candidates showed better performance in the higher grades but, overall, a higher percentage of females obtained at least a pass. Odongo said this trend in the disparity in gender performance has been observed over the years.
At the divisional grades, male candidates outshined their female candidates. Uneb statistics show that at division one, there are at least 15.5% males compared to 11.5% females. In division two, the males are 23.3% and 21.0% of the females. The highest number of female percentage passes reflects more at the lower levels including the ungraded level.
SPECIAL GROUPS
Uneb maintained an examination centre at Luzira Prisons for the inmates to assist the Uganda Prison Service in its bid to rehabilitate offenders.
Out of the registered 51 candidates and all sat, none excelled in the first division. Eight passed in division two, 16 in division three, 26 in division four, and one failed the examination. Special Needs Education (SNE) also performed "quite well", especially for those with low vision.
Meanwhile, the board noted a steady decline in the cases of examination malpractice from 1,292 withheld results in 2020 to 1,035 in 2022. However, Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics remain the most affected subjects with external assistance, collusion among candidates, impersonation, and script substitution as the common cases.
All schools whose results were withheld will be notified through their portals while successful ones can download the results. For those who insist on collecting hard copies from Uneb, they were given starting Monday next week to do so.
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Odongo urged heads of examination centres to study the results lists and submit any queries to the Uneb secretariat via the portal within 15 working days from today's release. Queries submitted thereafter may not be attended to.
nangonzi@observer.ug
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