Over 100,000 pass senior six exams, says UNEB

In Summary:

• In the 2023 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Examinations (UACE), 108,492 out of 109,488 students passed, with high eligibility for university and tertiary institution enrollment. Notably, 99% of candidates are eligible for the UACE certificate. Female candidates performed well despite fewer numbers.

According to the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb), out of the 109,488 students who participated in the 2023 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Examinations (UACE), 108,492 successfully passed, signaling a high percentage eligible for enrollment in universities and tertiary institutions.

Among the successful candidates, 52,452 achieved 3 Principal passes, 28,191 attained 2 Principal passes, and 18,624 secured one principal pass. Additionally, 9,225 students passed with one subsidiary, while 996 students failed out of the 110,553 learners who registered for the exams.

During the announcement of the UACE results, Uneb’s executive director, Dan Odongo, revealed that 99% of the candidates are eligible for the UACE certificate. He noted that traditionally, admissions to degree courses required a minimum of 2 Principal level passes. With this criterion, 80,643 students (73.7%) are qualified for admission, an increase from 67,815 (70.3%) in 2022.

Furthermore, Odongo explained that 90.7% of candidates qualify for admission to tertiary institutions with one Principal and two Subsidiary passes, compared to 89.3% in 2022. Despite fewer female candidates, they performed notably well, with higher percentage passes at upper levels and lower failure rates compared to males over the past three years.

Uneb observed a 12.9% increase in the number of candidates registered for the 2023 UACE compared to 2022, with 42.7% being females and 57.2% males. The number of candidates registered under the UPOLET program increased to 22.3% of the total candidature, with a higher proportion of males (14.5%) than females (7.8%).

The discrepancy in the number of female candidates participating in UACE may be linked to the types of schools offering the program.