UCE: First lady orders probe into high female school dropouts 

The minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, has instructed her ministry’s permanent secretary to conduct a concrete study on the factors hindering more girls from staying in school after the primary level cycle.

She said the Education ministry needs to ascertain the issues at hand and authoritatively inform the nation on the way forward.

“In 2019, we celebrated the increase in the number of girls registering for the UCE examination, which had always been lower than that of the boys. At the time, we noted that not only had the number of girls completing PLE caught up with that of boys but also the number of girls was significantly higher. Unfortunately, in 2022 this positive trend appears to have reversed in favour of the boys,” Museveni said.

She added: “The nation must be concerned that over 30,000 girls do not transition to complete the next level of education after PLE [Primary Leaving Examinations]. Consequently, we consider this [trend] a matter of great concern and we find it necessary to explain to the nation that this challenge affects the education and development of the girl child.”

Museveni was speaking at the release of the 2022 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examination results held today at the State House in Nakasero.

At least 349,459 candidates from 3,703 centres registered to sit UCE examinations that were conducted from November 17 to November 18, 2022. This represented an increase in candidature by 16,063 (4.8%) from 333,396 candidates in 2020. 

Of the total candidature, 175,768 (50.3%) were males, and 173,691 (49.7%) were female. This represents a difference of 2,077 more males registering for the examinations than females.

The Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) executive director, Dan Odongo, noted that the number of females had surpassed that of the males, for the first time, by 398 in 2019. However, the gap, in favour of males, appears to be resurfacing.

“We have also observed that male candidates performed better at all the higher grades than their female counterparts. The females performed better in English language only. This trend in the disparity in the performance of male and female candidates has been observed by the board over the years,” Odongo said.

Museveni was also concerned about the rate at which candidates register and miss sitting their examinations.

“I regrettably note that the cases of absenteeism that have been decreasing have now increased by 0.3 per cent – meaning some 560 candidates [were absent] over those of 2020. This must be of great concern to all the stakeholders since these young people are in school for four years only to miss out at the end. Again, we must find answers to these questions and we will,” she said. 

CHINESE LANGUAGE CANDIDATES

Meanwhile, Museveni welcomed a move by Uneb to examine O-level candidates – for the first time – in the Chinese language along with other already examinable foreign subjects such as French, German, Arabic, Latin, and Kiswahili. At least 134 candidates sat for Chinese and 124 (92.5%) passed the examination.

She said knowledge of Chinese is vital given the ever-increasing levels of engagement between Uganda and China in various fields like educational, cultural, technological, and commerce.

“This is a welcome development. This is why, as a country, we must ensure that our people can communicate in major languages to strengthen our competitiveness in the global village,” she said.

She urged candidates who didn’t perform to their expectations that “there is time to try again, or to seize the other opportunities available to acquire skills for life.”

The senior five selection exercise at the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) exhibition hall Museveni has been fixed for February 23 and 24 while students will report for A-level on March 6, 2023.

nangonzi@observer.ug