UNEB tells 15,756 students to repeat senior four after failing 2022 exams
The chairperson of the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) Prof Mary Okwakol has attributed examination malpractices and the cancellation of results for candidates who sat for the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) on insufficient briefing of candidates by heads of schools.
Speaking at the release of the examinations at State Lodge in Nakasero, Kampala, Prof Okwakol said the conduct of UCE exams kicked off on October 17, 2022 with briefing of candidates.
She however, observed that this was not conducted well by the heads of schools, making some candidates commit some acts of irregularities attributed to insufficient briefing.
“Some head teachers did not brief students and some students committed acts of irregularities attributed to inadequate briefing. Head teachers should start taking briefing seriously to avoid cancellation of students’ results,” she said.
According to her, there has been a drop in number of results that have been withheld due to suspected malpractice compared to 2020 national examinations, with a 4.8 percent increment in candidature last year as compared to the year before.
“Cases of examination malpractices have drastically dropped as compared to the year before.
I want to thank our field supervisors for their vigilance,” she added.
The Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) has reported a reduction in the failure rate after the candidates who sat for the 2022 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) posted better performance than their colleagues who sat for the same examinations in 2020.
Releasing the exam results Thursday, the board’s executive director, Mr Dan Odongo said a total of 345,695 candidates sat for the examinations out of 345,945 who registered for the examinations.
Out of these, 46,667 passed in division one,76,745 in second division,88,690 in third division and 117,837 passed in division four.
A total of 15,756 failed the examinations and are expected to repeat senior four if they wish to proceed to senior five, Mr Odongo said.
However, he noted that there is an improvement in performance of candidates this year given an increase in the number of candidates who passed in division one and others consecutively.
According to him, there is an improvement in performance in the large entry subjects except in Christian Religious Education, Biology and Commerce.
Mathematics showed better performance at the Distinction level, but declined overall. English language improved at credit and overall Pass levels but declined at the distinction level.
Performance in Biology has continued to decline as seen in the last few years.
“Worth noting is that, performance in Physics and Chemistry has improved, although the overall pass levels are still low. Over 40% of the candidates have not passed the two subjects,” Mr Odong said.
UNEB noted that this year, examiners reported better quality work in English language. However, in composition writing, where candidates are expected to exhibit creativity and originality, learners in some schools are still cramming passages from textbooks or what they call “model compositions” with unusual and difficult vocabulary. They then reproduce the crammed passages irrespective of what the composition topic is.
“This practice is, fortunately, declining, because candidates who do this are punished. IN the Comprehension passage, candidates found difficulty in extracting appropriate information to use to correctly answer the questions based on the passage. There are also weaknesses in using the correct grammar in sentence construction. The essential skill of extracting main ideas from a passage and writing out a coherent summary presents a major challenge to most candidates,” Mr Odongo said.
