The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has announced the release of Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) results, revealing an overall improvement in performance, particularly in Science and Mathematics subjects.
The highly anticipated exam results were officially released today at State House Nakasero by the Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni.
UNEB’s Executive Director, Daniel Odongo, shared the findings, stating, “In Science and Mathematics, the overall performance indicates that a higher proportion of our candidates passed these two subjects.”
Notably, the analysis revealed that girls performed exceptionally well in English, whereas boys demonstrated higher competence in Science, Mathematics, Social Studies and Religious Education.
“It has been the usual trend in recent years that girls excel in English, whereas boys show proficiency in Social Studies, Religious Education, Integrated Science, and Mathematics,” Odongo observed.
In addition to the impressive results, concerns arose due to an increase in candidates falling within the ungraded division, constituting 10.4% of the total number, along with a rise in the number of school dropouts.
Expressing his apprehension, ED Dan Odongo remarked, “The number of candidates in Division U is quite significant, amounting to 88,269 (10.4%). We should address this issue to prevent them from merely being counted as school dropouts. Districts such as Kibuku (31.5%), Madi Okollo (31.5%), Dokolo (28.9%), Kween (28.4%), Namisindwa (28.9%), along with several other districts, exceed the national average with over 20% of candidates in Division U. It is crucial to investigate and tackle the root causes.”
Furthermore, UNEB announced that results will be available for download on the Examination Portals for each respective school. District Municipal and City Inspectors of Schools will collect hard copies of the results from UNEB OFFICES at Ntinda starting January 29, 2024.
To provide convenient access, Odongo revealed that parents, candidates, and other concerned parties can use the Short Messaging Service (SMS) on mobile networks to instantly check candidates’ results on their mobile devices.
According to the Ministry, a total of 749,371 candidates registered for the PLE in 2023, comprising 357,797 males and 391,574 females. Among these, 2,436 candidates had special needs.
UNEB highlighted that 66.9% of the candidates were beneficiaries of Universal Primary Education (UPE), while the remaining 33.1% were non-UPE students.
