Traditional schools across have ignored students who sat their Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams under the old curriculum, an analysis of the national selection and placement exercise has revealed.
Our reporter talked to headteachers of many of the hitherto top and traditional schools, and except Masaka Secondary School, most were unwilling to admit students who had studied under the phased-out curriculum.
“We have no students under the transition curriculum,” was a common response from headteachers and their deputies during the selection exercise.
Perez Katabarwa, the Director of Studies at Trinity College Nabbingo, said that since they had no candidates studying under the old curriculum, they did not anticipate being allocated any during the selection process.
The Ministry of Education had allowed students who failed the 2023 UCE exams, those who missed out, and those who wished to re-sit on their own accord to sit for a special one-time transitional examination before the old curriculum was completely phased out.
This final examination offered a last chance for students to secure a certificate before the country fully transitions to the competence-based lower secondary curriculum.
However, many teachers and school administrators perceived these candidates as weak performers, as most were repeaters. In addition, the general performance of the transitional examination was poor.
The last batch of students under the old curriculum recorded disappointing results, with 1,629 learners (16.7%) failing outright and nearly 60% passing in Division Four-the lowest grade.
Of the 10,141 candidates who registered from 1,028 centers nationwide, only 80 (0.8%) passed in Division One, while 503 secured Division Two.
A total of 1,710 candidates attained Division Three, whereas the majority, 5,820 (59.7%), were placed in Division Four.
Another 1,629 learners (16.7%) failed, while 399 registered candidates did not sit for the exams.
Masaka Secondary School was the only traditional school that admitted some of these students, setting the cutoff point at 29 for both boys and girls.
According to guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education, the placement of these students was based on the 2024 cutoff points.
This was another reason why top schools did not admit them, as most had strict cutoffs, with some only accepting students who scored between 9 and 10 points, while others considered only first-grade candidates, who were already scarce.
Dr. Jane Egau, the Chairperson of the National Selection and Placement Committee, noted that while some schools may not be admitting these candidates, the ministry has ensured that each one of them is placed in a school.
“During the placement process, we prioritized these students, and every single one of them was placed in a school. And there are not many of them,” she said during an interview.
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