The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has released the 2024 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) results, revealing a mixed performance across different subjects, with a drop in distinction scores revealing that students struggled with application-based questions that required a high level of problem-solving skills.
According to the data released by Dan Odongo, the executive secretary of UNEB, on January 23, 2025, the overall performance of candidates in the four core subjects—English, Social Studies and Religious Studies (SST), Science, and Mathematics—showed some notable improvements compared to the 2023 PLE results.
“While students performed better in subjects like Social Studies & Religious Studies, Integrated Science, and Mathematics at the higher grade levels (grade 8 and above), there was a concerning drop in performance in English compared to the previous year,” Odongo said.
He further noted that what was most alarming was the performance in mathematics, which saw the lowest cumulative percentage of candidates achieving Distinction 2, Credit 6, and Pass 8 levels across both years.
Odongo further revealed that in 2024, only 62.7% of candidates scored at the Credit 6 level or above in Mathematics, a significant decline from the 52.6% recorded in 2023. This suggests that students faced difficulties with the application-based questions, which require higher-level problem-solving skills.
“The drop in distinction scores across all subjects is a clear indication that candidates faced challenges with questions that tested their higher-order thinking abilities,” Odongo said. This is an area we will need to address through targeted interventions and support for both students and teachers.”
“These results serve as a wake-up call for us to re-evaluate our approaches and invest more resources in strengthening the foundational skills of our learners. We are committed to working with all stakeholders to address the gaps and ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive.” Odongo added.
According to recent reports, a total of 798,711 students sat for the 2024 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) in Uganda.
