The Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) on Friday released the results for the 2020 Primary leaving Examinations (PLE) saying it registered an improved performance by pupils compared to 2019 PLE results.
According to the UNEB Executive Secretary, Mr. Dan Odongo, a total of 734,788 candidates sat for these PLE exams, despite only 659,910 passing to qualify for further education at secondary and vocational levels.
The examinations body said 12,819 did not sit for the examinations, despite having registered, while 74, 875 pupils failed the exams completely and have been advised to repeat.
UNEB further said that 81,864 candidates scored Division One results, 334,711 in Division 2, 146,142 in Division 3 while 97,193 managed a fourth grade division.
Prof Mary Okwakol, UNEB’s chairperson said statistics on registration show that the number of registered candidates went up with a larger percentage than ever before.
“One of the findings is that in the districts of Kampala, Wakiso, and some urban centres elsewhere, a number of headteachers admitted that they registered Primary Six pupils, mostly girls, to sit the PLE. The reason given was that parents were worried about girls’ fast growth, and the uncertainties surrounding their going back to school soon,” she said.
Dan Odongo, the UNEB Executive Secretary says there were various reasons why there were absentee candidates.
Data from UENB shows that the highest number of absentee candidates were recorded in rural districts that include Isingiro district with 451 candidates out of 8,924 registered followed by Gomba district where over 9 percent representing 416 learners out of the registered 4,618 candidates did not sit for the examinations.
Kalaki district recorded the lowest number of absentee candidates. Only four out of the registered 1,962 candidates did not show up for the exams.
Previously, schools in urban areas like Kampala have blamed double registration for the occurrence of absentee candidates. Some candidates have been in the practice of registering in rural schools yet they study in urban schools.
However this year, UNEB officials attribute the high number of absentee candidates to learners dropping out of school to engage in farming activities during the lockdown.
The Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataha Museveni says a follow-up is needed to figure out what happens to learners who register but do not write the exams. She says the education sector needs to account for this category of learners.
In 2019, UNEB records show that 12,502 candidates did not show up for exams. The previous year, the figure stood at 12,293.
As far as the performance of candidates is concerned, Odongo said that more learners last year passed in Division one and two compared to the previous years. Data released by the examination body shows that 81,864 candidates passed in division one and 416,575 in division two compared to 69,243 and 387,398 in 2019 respectively.
Girls performed better than their male counterparts in English but did not fare as well in Mathematics, Social Studies and Sciences.
How to check PLE Results on your phone?
You can get the 2020 PLE Results for any candidate in a few simple steps.
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1. In your message box, type PLE <space> INDEX NUMBER and send it to 6600.
2. For example, to check the results of the candidate with index number 654321/001, in your message box, type PLE 654321/001 AND SEND TO 6600.
3. You will receive an SMS at a cost of UGX 500 per candidate
