Rédaction Africa Links 24 with The Observer
Published on 2024-01-25 15:24:42
Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, announced that all candidates who failed the 2023 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) will be allowed to repeat primary seven in public schools. Speaking at the release of the PLE results at State House Nakasero, Museveni emphasized the importance of providing a pathway of hope for the learners who did not qualify for PLE certificates, stating that it is unfair for them to drop out of the education cycle at this level.
Museveni also instructed the ministry of Education to communicate to the respective accounting officers in local governments that such learners be accorded an opportunity to repeat P7 in all public primary schools. She urged teachers and parents to work hard with these children to improve their grades so that they can qualify for various educational opportunities beyond primary seven.
The government had previously implemented an automatic promotion policy for learners under Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) to progress from one class to another without considering the quality of their performance. However, Museveni stated that her ministry is going to embark on a comprehensive review of the automatic promotion policy due to the high failure rate in the 2023 PLE exams.
The 2023 examinations were conducted smoothly, with a total candidature of 749,254 candidates. The overall performance of the candidates was comparable to that of 2022, according to the Uneb executive director, Dan N. Odongo. However, a higher proportion of candidates passed in Division three and above, and the number of candidates in Division U was quite high at 10.4%.
Additionally, there were specific groups of special candidates who faced unique challenges in the PLE exams, such as incarcerated offenders and learners with special needs. A total of 2,436 learners with special needs registered, and Uneb noted the need to address the challenges faced by specific categories such as the deaf, partially blind, dyslexics, and physically handicapped candidates.
Overall, Museveni’s announcement and the comprehensive review of the automatic promotion policy reflect the government’s commitment to providing equal opportunities and support for all learners in Uganda’s education system.
Read the original article on The Observer
