Summary:
- During the event, Dan Odongo, the Executive Director of the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), reported a drop in the number of candidates obtaining Division 1 in the 2024 PLE.
KAMPALA: On Thursday, First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataha Museveni, officially released the 2024 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) results at an event held at State House Nakasero in Kampala.
During the event, Dan Odongo, the Executive Director of the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), reported a drop in the number of candidates obtaining Division 1 in the 2024 PLE.
However, he noted that a higher proportion of candidates achieved Division 2 and above.
Odongo revealed that overall, the performance of candidates in 2024 was better than in 2023.
“A higher proportion of candidates passed (91.8%) compared to 2023 (88.0%),” he said.
He further explained that the performance in key grades, including Distinction, Credit, and Pass, showed positive results over the two-year period.
Odongo also addressed a worrying trend of schools misclassifying normal pupils as special needs candidates to benefit from additional time.
“Some schools are enrolling pupils with health conditions like asthma, epilepsy, and sickle cell anemia under the ‘Others’ category,” he explained.
While the board recognizes that such candidates may experience medical episodes during exams, they are only entitled to an extra 45 minutes, not specialized assistance.
He also noted that some schools are selectively nominating top-performing pupils for this extra time.
Prof. Celestino Obua, the UNEB Chairperson, shared a positive development in the performance of Special Needs Education (SNE) candidates, particularly those in the deaf category.
“In 2023, 44% of candidates in this category were ungraded, but this year the proportion has reduced to 23%, marking significant improvement,” he said.
A total of 797,444 candidates from 14,883 centers registered for PLE in 2024, up from 749,347 in 2023. Of these, 524,025 (65.7%) were from Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools, while 273,419 (34.3%) came from Non-UPE schools.
Gender analysis showed that 378,709 (47.5%) boys and 418,750 (52.5%) girls participated in the exam, indicating a higher number of girls completing the primary education cycle, a trend that has persisted in recent years.
Additionally, the board registered 71 candidates from Uganda Government Upper Prison, Luzira (70 males and 1 female), and 37 from Mbarara Main Prison (all males).
At Luzira, 71 candidates were registered, compared to 69 in 2023. Of those who sat for the exams, 59 candidates participated, with 4 passing in Division 1, 36 in Division 2, and 13 in Division 3.
