More 2023 UACE candidates qualify for university - Uneb
Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) executive director Dan Odongo delivers his remarks during the release of 2023 UACE results at State House Nakasero on March 7, 2024. PHOTO/FRANK BAGUMA
What you need to know:
- While 110, 553 learners registered for the exams, only 109,488 sat 2023 UACE.
- Uneb reports that “80, 643 of the 2023 candidates meet the minimum requirement of 2 principal level passes for admission to university, up from a figure of 67, 815 in 2022 examinations.”
At least 73 percent students who sat their Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations qualify for university, reflecting a steady performance improvement as compared to 2022 and 2021, the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) has said.
On Thursday, Uneb released results of 110,553 learners who registered for the November 13-December 1, 2023 UACE examinations across 2,102 centres in the country, posting an increase of 12,663 candidates in the previous year.
“Analysis of the overall candidates’ performance in the examination shows that a very high percentage of candidates (99.1%) qualified for the award of the UACE, just as was in 2022,” Uneb executive secretary Dan Odongo said.
Uneb reports that “80, 643 of the 2023 candidates meet the minimum requirement of 2 principal level passes for admission to university, up from a figure of 67, 815 in 2022 examinations.”
“In cases where one principal and two subsidiary pass levels are considered for admission to other tertiary institutions, 90.7 per cent of the candidates will qualify. This is better as compared to 2022 with 89.3 per cent,” Uneb executive secretary Dan Odongo said.
Below is the general performance in UACE 2023 compared to UACE 2022:
General Performance in UACE 2023 compared to UACE 2022 (*Source: Uneb)
2023 UACE Performance by Gender (Below)
2023 UACE Performance by Gender (Source: Uneb)
Examiners also revealed improvement in the quality of candidates’ work, with higher mean scores in many subject areas where performance has been reported to have improved, according to Odongo.
“Notable has been Biology, where performance has been rather poor in the past years. The core science subjects continue to show lower than desired principal performance levels. The factors responsible for this state of affairs include teaching theoretically, with candidates lacking in practical skills to perform experiments, record and interpret their results. Questions based on practical experience posed problems as a result,” he explained.
The board has called for urgent attention to subjects relating to ICT, noting that “most schools are very ill-equipped in terms of computers and printers required for the practical examination which greatly impacts the acquisition of the skills and quality of work they present during the examination.”
In 2022, 67,815 (70.3%) learners qualified for university admission as compared to 69.8% in 2020.
