Male students performed better than their female counterparts according to the 2023 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examination results that were released today.
A total of 364,469 candidates registered for the examinations although 361,695 took the exams.
According to the results, 20% of males passed in Division 1 compared to 15% of females. While 4.2% of females who sat for the exams failed compared to 4% of males.
Dan Odongo, the executive secretary of Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), said overall the 2023 performance was better than that of 2022.
In 2023, 64,782 candidates passed in Division 1 compared to 46,667 in 2022. Secondly, those who failed in 2023 were 14,879 compared to 15,756 in 2022.
Odongo said science subjects were poorly performed. Less than 20 per cent of the candidates failed to obtain credit pass levels in Physics and Chemistry, and 40 per cent of candidates failed these two subjects.
He said: “Examiners have attributed the low achievement levels in science subjects to a number of factors, main among which are inadequate teaching, manifesting in the inability of the learners to master the basic scientific concepts; lack of practical teaching, manifesting in the learners’ inability to manipulate science apparatus and carry out the procedures prescribed in the examination papers and interpret any readings or observations that could have been made. There are schools that have been reported to have no science teachers, which exacerbate the problem.”
Odongo said that cases of examination malpractice had continued to reduce over the years. He said schools whose results were withheld will be notified through their portals.