Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) chairperson, Professor Celestino Obua, has said that the next set of ordinary-level examinations will be administered under the new curriculum.
“This is the last examination administered under the old curriculum. From the 2024 October/November examination, the UCE will be administered in accordance with the New Lower Secondary Curriculum,” he said during the release of 2023 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) results at State House, Nakasero.
He said in the past, candidates who would not have made it in an examination such as this one would repeat the examination in the following examination season.
“This will not be possible this time; as the examination format and other conditions will be drastically different,” noted Prof Obua.
“The Board has completed work on the sample papers for the examination under the new curriculum, and arrangements are being made to upload the papers on the school portals. Hard copies will also be availed to all examination centres”.
New Curriculum
The government overhauled the O-Level curriculum which saw the National Curriculum Development Centre reduced teaching subjects from 43 to 21.
In the new approved curriculum, schools will teach 12 subjects at Senior One and Two, out of which 11 will be compulsory while one will be from an elective menu (optional). Students at levels Three and Four will exit with a minimum of eight or a maximum of nine subjects with seven of them compulsory.
The method of assessing the performance of lower secondary students was revised, with Uganda Certificate of Education examination results now accounting for 80 per cent.
Under the new curriculum, teachers will compile the learners’ achievements under the Formative Assessment in the four-year cycle, find an average score and submit it to the Uganda National Examinations Board to contribute at least 20 per cent in the final national examinations grading.
There are only seven compulsory core subjects — science and biology, chemistry, physics, physical education, general science and mathematics. The Chinese language was added to the menu of foreign languages while Kiswahili, Physical Education and entrepreneurship will be compulsory for all students in Senior One and Two.
Grading issues
He said the release of the 2023 PLE results was followed by a frenzy of misinformation and disinformation.
“The crux of this was that UNEB grading is selective and disadvantages learners from schools in and around Kampala in favour of upcountry schools. Some of the misinformation even indicated that the grade.”
He added: “The Board embarked on stakeholder engagements to increase awareness of these key stakeholders on the New Lower Secondary Curriculum and what changes to expect in areas such as reporting of results and certification.”
According to Prof Obua, on 8th February 2024, the Board held a one-day seminar with all District Education Officers and some Chief Administrative Officers as the first group. A roadmap has been drawn for other groups.
He said the grading system used by UNEB selected particular parts of the country for better results.
“A debunked set of marks allegedly obtained by a parent from UNEB was circulated to lend credence to these wild allegations. Incidentally, this is the same set of marks which was first circulated in 2018!”
Exam malpractice
Speaking on the same occasion, UNEB Executive Director, Dan Odongo, said cases of examination malpractice have continued to reduce.
“Most of the ones reported in this examination were external assistance given in the examination rooms, and affecting mostly Physics and Chemistry practical examination, and Mathematics,” he noted.
He added: “Affected schools whose results are withheld will be notified through their Portals. They will also be notified of the dates of the hearings.”
According to Prof Obua, the hearings of cases of suspected malpractice in the 2023 examinations will commence on 19th February 2024 starting with PLE cases.
“Invitations are being extended to the affected candidates/schools through the District Education offices,” Prof Obua noted.
