Kampala, (UG): The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) together with Education Minister, Mrs Janet Museveni Thursday, Jan 25, officially released the 2023 Primary Leaving Examinations showing a decline in overall performance as compared to last year.
The Board’s Executive Director, Mr Dan Odongo while releasing the results at State House Nakasero said that a total of 749,254 candidates registered for PLE in 2023 compared to 832,654 in 2022. The Examinations were conducted at 15,859 centres countrywide.
Out of this number, 501,602 (66.9%) from 11,365 centres were Universal Primary Education (UPE) beneficiaries, and 247,652 (33.1) of the candidates were Non-UPE.
2023 PLE Results in Figures
Revealing the 2023 PLE results by a gender analysis, statistics showed that 52.25% of the candidates were girls, surpassing boys who accounted for 47.75%. The trend according to UNEB has been consistent for seven years, signifying an encouraging trend in girls’ completion of the Primary Education cycle.
UNEB said it registered 2,652 learners with Special Needs (SNE), showcasing an 8.7% increase from the previous year. Of these, 1,261 were females, and 1,391 were males, with 995 candidates requiring specialized assistance such as braille, sign language interpreters, transcribers, and physical support.
A detailed analysis of subject performance over two years (2023 and 2022) indicated slight improvements in English, Integrated Science, and Mathematics. However, Social Studies and Religious Education (SST) performance remained comparable to the previous year.
Subject performance by gender revealed cumulative percentages at each pass level. Notably, the results emphasized the need for continued efforts to address disparities and ensure equitable educational outcomes for all.
Generally, Boys outperformed girls with 13% of males scoring Division, compared to 9% of females.
Dr Odongo however said that a higher proportion of the 2023 candidates passed in Division Three and above level, but 88,269 (candidates who sat the 2023 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) were ungraded. This, according to UNEB represents 10.4 per cent.
“Division U (Ungraded) is awarded to candidates who have failed to reach the minimum level of performance that can be awarded at least a Division 4 They are not eligible for admission to the Senior 1 class. It should be noted that the number of candidates in Division U is quite high, at 88,269 (10.4%) and should raise concern so that they do not just add to the statistics of school drop-outs,” Mr Odongo said.
According to UNEB, the 2023 PLE results show that the number of candidates in Division U shot high this year, at 88,269 (10.4%) which raises a concern so that they do not just add to the statistics of school drop-outs.
The worst-performing districts in the 2023 PLE results are; Kibuku (31.5%), Madi Okollo (31.5%), Dokolo (28.9%), Kween (28.4%) and Namisindwa (28.9%) where the percentages are well above the national average.
“Many other districts have over 20% of the candidates in Division U. It is necessary to find out the causes and address them,” stated Odongo.
The Education Minister and First Lady, Mrs Janet Musevenil speaking at the results release instructed the Permanent Secretary of her Ministry to work out something to ensure that such pupils (who are ungraded) are allowed to repeat Primary Seven in public schools.
“From the Executive Director’s report, I observe that a number of candidates did not qualify for the PLE certificates (Ungraded). The government is going to ensure that this trend is reversed. I have instructed the Permanent Secretary [of Education Ministry] to work out something to ensure that such pupils are allowed to repeat Primary Seven in public schools so that we can support them,” she said.
Pursuant to Section 5(2) (b) of the UNEB Act, 2021, the Board said it will withhold the results of the affected candidates pending the completion of investigations.
“Where there will be a prima facie case, the Board’s tribunal (Examinations Security Committee) will accord all the affected candidates a fair hearing before making final decisions.”
After the conclusion of the hearings by the Board’s tribunal, Odongo said the list of districts and schools with cancelled results will be published.
He added that the 2023 PLE Results will be uploaded on the examination Centre Portals. Each school can therefore download their results as soon as they are officially released. However, the District, Municipal and City Inspectors of Schools may collect hard copies of the results from UNEB offices at Ntinda from Monday, January 29.
“No copies of the results are available as of now. Parents, candidates and other interested parties may use the Short Messaging Service (SMS) on mobile networks, which will post the results of candidates on their mobile sets instantly.”
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