At least 81% of the candidates who sat for the April-May Uganda Business and Technical Examination Board (UBTEB) exams , the body has announced.
Releasing the exams on Thursday at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kampala, UBTEB Executive Secretary Onesmus Oyesigye said these were part of the 8538 candidates who sat for the exams.
Generally, out of the 8,538 candidates who sat for examinations, 6,913 Candidates (81%) successfully acquired all competencies in their respective trades. In this particular release for the end of programme examinations female candidates are 3,931 (57%) that successfully completed the programmes compared to male candidates with 2,982 (43%) ," Oyesigye said.
He said there was a very good performance exhibited in Physical and Biological Science diploma end of programme with an 82% pass rate whereas other categories of programmes were also done well with completion rates above 70%.
According to the results released, 1958 candidates sat for technical diploma and 129 representing 7% passed in class one(distinction), 1295(66%) passed in class two also known as credit whereas 205 of the candidates (11%) had passes(class three).
In terms of business diploma, 1825 candidates sat, 166(10%) passed in class one(distinction),646(35%) in class two and 537(29%) in class three also known as pass.
For those on business certificate, 344(9%) passed in class one( distinction), 2530(64%) with a credit and 394(10%) got passes whereas those doing physical and biological science diplomas, 49(6%) passed with distinctions, 562(71%) with credits and 40(5%) with passes.
The results also show that 84% of all candidates who sat for technical diploma passed, 74% for business diploma, 83% for business certificate whereas 82% for physical and biological science diploma.
According to the UBTEB Executive Secretary, Onesmus Oyesigye, the secretariat has continued to train more Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) assessors and verifiers to now 621 in total.
"It is hoped that this will equip adequate delivery and assessment skills to the instructors as the board transforms fully to modular assessment. The board has continued to heed to the guidelines in the TVET Policy 2019 and National Development Plan (NDP III), and in a phased manner, modularized its assessment for most of Uganda Community Polytechnic Certificate and National certificate programmes. There are several other diploma programmes under the Uganda Colleges of Commerce undergoing review and expected to begin with the incoming September 2023 intake. "
He said UBTEB has enhanced the Examination Information Management System (EIMS) which is meant to enhance the functionalities of online registration, direct payment of registration fees by students, processing of examination results and academic documents.
Challenges
The UBTEB Executive Secretary said the Covid pandemic and lockdown related effects have continued to affect the pattern of conduct of examinations from the usual two assessment series to the present three series per year.
"This has proved to be very costly on the side of the Board and students due to multiple examinations. It is however hoped that the situation will return to normal by the end of the next academic year," Oyesigye noted.
He noted that certain examination papers have continued to pose a challenge to candidates in terms of passing rates.
"The possible causes include among others inadequate syllabus coverage, lack of adequate industrial practice exposure for the case of some papers like textile sciences and application and continued bias on mathematics related papers and non-reviewed curricula of a number of programmes mainly agriculture."
"The conduct of practical on-spot assessments have remained costly to both the board and the institutions and this calls for more funding for enhanced hands-on training and assessment for better skills acquisition."
The UBTEB boss also highlighted inadequate equipment like computers in institutions and high cost of internet connectivity services which are a challenge to most centres.
The Minister for Education and Sports, Janet Museveni who was represented by the State Minister for Higher Education, John Chrysestom Muyingo hailed UBTEB for the continued engagement of the heads of TVET institutions and the industry to ensure that practitioners in the world of work participate in assessment of trainees.
"This will enable production of competent TVET graduates that match the ever-changing demands of the world of work. As NRM Government, we have prioritized key sectors that can spur our industrial growth and development such as manufacturing, construction, Information Communications Technology, tourism and hospitality, agriculture, among others," Mrs Museveni said.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
She noted that during the review of the National Development Plan III, delivery and assessment of Modular TVET was re-prioritized to emphasize the need for the youth to acquire skills for employability.
"It is now our deliberate policy as Government to harness critical skills that will enable the young generation to be part of the struggle to support the industrial base and guarantee increased productivity for job creation."
She also applauded UBTEB for fast-tracking the TVET reforms and their implementation.
"I am in particular grateful to the Board for the continued collaborations with the industry and TVET development partners that support government's call on delivering TVET that is employer-led. This will enable our country to achieve her dream of raising a critical mass of artisans and technicians. I therefore call upon the private players in the industrial sector to be involved more in the curriculum development, training and assessment of TVET graduates."
The education minister said she was elated with the continued increase in enrollment of trainees for TVET programmes.
