The Uganda National Examinations Board has released the 2024 Uganda Certificate of Education results, indicating that a total of 350,146 students, representing 98.05% of the candidates, passed their examinations. This means the overwhelming majority of students who sat for the exams will be awarded UCE certificates, a feat for Uganda’s education system. The results, however, also point to some challenges, especially in subjects such as Science and English, where students were found wanting in the application of knowledge to life situations. According to UNEB, passing the UCE exams means a student has qualified for the UCE certificate.

This will appear on their transcripts and certificates as “Result 1.” Not all students will receive this result. Other candidates will have “Result 2” on their transcripts, meaning they did not meet all of the qualifications for awarding a certificate. This may be because they have not been attested on compulsory subjects, or even because they had fewer than eight subjects in their examinations, or even failed to complete their Project Work. The other group will have “Result 3,” indicating that such students failed to meet the minimum performance levels in all the subjects they sat for. Such candidates will only have an “E” grade in all subjects and, like the ones with Result 2, will not qualify for a UCE certificate. Results also showed that some subjects, such as Art and Design, History & Political Education, Agriculture, and Mathematics, were excellently done. In those subjects, many students attained high grades, reflecting their good mastery of skills and knowledge.

This was not observed in the case of other subjects. For instance, Physics, Chemistry, and English Language had quite a number of students at the elementary level of performance below the basic standard. This simply means that quite a good number of students hardly grasped what is taught of these core subjects. Among those, UNEB pointed to one of the biggest challenges being in the Science practical exams. Students were supposed to take given scenarios and materials to develop aims, form hypotheses, plan investigations, and make conclusions. However, a good number of candidates failed to interpret the scenario appropriately or relate it to the real-life situations.
Some students even attempted to rely on pre-learnt answers rather than applying knowledge to solve problems. That means that there is a gap in their critical thinking and application of what they learn. Similar difficulties were found in English and other foreign languages. Many students had difficulties with vocabulary, summarizing texts in their own words, and providing examples in comprehension and literature analysis tasks. While the students fared somewhat better in the speaking assessments, where they fairly demonstrated an understanding of given scenarios, the general difficulty of linking these scenarios to solving problems in real life remained the major issue. UNEB reiterated that this skill lies at the heart of the new competency-based curriculum, and teachers need to do more for the students to develop it.

Despite these, some positive trends were recorded in the results. For example, female candidates outshone their male counterparts in subjects like English Language, Christian Religious Education, and Art and Design. This is indicative of girls doing well in these areas, hence serving as a source of inspiration for others to up their game. According to the UNEB’s Executive Director, Dan Odongo, the results reflect partial successes and growing pains as Uganda moves into the practice of a competency-based curriculum-that is, the way it is designed to help learners become proficient at developing critical thinking, problem-solving, and practical skills and not just mere memorization. While the transition has not been without challenges, Odongo expressed optimism that as more training for teachers and better resources for schools, the students should improve in coming years. The release of the 2024 UCE results marks an important milestone for Uganda’s education system. Though highly commendable, the high pass rate needs to be put into proper perspective in light of subjects such as Science and English. This shows that teaching and learning interventions are still required on the part of teachers, parents, and policy actors to ensure that while pupils pass their exams, they acquire life skills as well.

Results are now available on the UNEB portal and through SMS services, and students and schools can easily access their performance details. Such transparency is one step forward in ensuring accountability and helping students plan for further studies or the field of employment.

In other words, the 2024 UCE results are proof that the education system in Uganda is moving, but there is still a lot of work ahead. Improving Science, English, and other fundamental subjects, coupled with continued support in the transition to a competency-based curriculum, will see Uganda build a better future for both students and the nation as a whole.