Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Busein Samilu
Published on 2024-01-29 07:00:00
Sharon Winnie (not real name), a 12-year-old student, registered for her Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) last April at a school in Kagadi District. Winnie had regularly attended classes at the school since 2017, leading school administration and teachers to assume that she would be writing her final exams there. Surprisingly, she was absent from the PLE briefing in November. The school later discovered that Winnie’s aunt had withdrawn her from the school due to religious differences. This revealed a larger issue as Winnie became one of the 122,729 pupils who failed to sit for their exams despite being registered as per the Uganda National Examination Board (Uneb) between 2015 and 2023. The results, stated that 736,931 candidates out of the 749,254 pupils registered for the exams did turn up between November 8 and 9, 2023.
Education and Sports Minister Janet Kataha Museveni expressed her concern over the number of absentees. While the number of absentees dropped from previous years, she emphasized that a child’s absence from the end-of-cycle examination was a loss for the entire education system and the family. Uneb’s figures indicated an ongoing trend of unaccounted registered candidates throughout the years.
Experts and educationists identified multiple reasons for PLE absenteeism, including early marriages, teenage pregnancies, financial constraints, sickness, and late school preparation. Additionally, factors such as child labor, lack of self-esteem, and issues regarding people with disabilities were contributing to the problem. Uneb’s statistics show that absenteeism is on the rise if not addressed.
The issue seems to be widespread and involves various stakeholders such as the government, teachers, parents, and schools. Experts called for increased sensitization and interventions to address the cultural, financial, and social barriers contributing to absenteeism. Key recommendations included ensuring all children are well-prepared for exams and equipping schools with the necessary resources. They also stressed the importance of addressing issues such as late preparation and the discrimination of persons with disabilities.
In response to the problem, the government has declared plans for universal and compulsory secondary education, as well as plans to provide additional funding to UPE schools. This is aimed at encouraging every child of school-going age to access education. There is also a commitment by the government to address factors such as school fees, early marriages, and child labor, in a bid to reverse the trend of PLE absenteeism. It seems that collective efforts are necessary among all stakeholders, including government bodies, schools, and parents, to find a lasting solution to this issue.
