KAMPALA – Primary Leaving Examination results for 2019 indicate that boys performed better than girls at the upper grades and with a lower failure rate.
Analysis of results released by the UNEB in Kampala on Friday, January 17, 2020, indicate that of 683,433 candidates, 39,182 (11.9%) males scored Grade One, while 30,061 (8.5%) females scored the same grade. A total of 159,923 (48.4%) males were in Division Two, against 158,232 (44.6%) girls in Division Two. A total of 60,244 boys (18.2%) were in Division 3, against 80,176 girls (22.6%). A total of 43,868 (13.3%) boys were in Division 4 while 45,464 scored the same grade (12.3%). More girls (39,176 -11.0%) than boys (26,976 – 8.2%) failed PLE with Division U.
Mr Dan Odongo, the UNEB Executive Secretary, while releasing the results in Kampala on Friday, January 17, 2020, said analysis by gender indicated that 336,040 (48.3%) boys were registered compared to 359,764 (51.7%) girls, indicating that more girls than boys completed the Primary Education cycle.
The Board registered 1,315 learners with special needs of various categories. The blind, the deaf, the physically handicapped and the dyslexics among others. Of these, 49.3% are females and 50.7% are males.
The candidates also performed well in English and Social Studies (SST).
According to results, at distinction level, 7.6% of the 683,433 candidates scored a distinction, that is between D1 and D2 in English, while 59.2% scored credits. The 7.6% distinctions are an improvement from 2018 PLE results, where only 6.3% of the candidates scored distinctions.
In SST, 14% of the 2019 candidates scored distinctions and 78.9% scored credits, that is between distinction 3 and 6.
However, Science and Maths were not performed well. Only 4.9% of the 683,433 candidates scored distinctions in Science, a decline from 13.4% in 2018. Another 69.6% got credits in science in 2019.
In Maths, 6.0% scored distinctions, which is lower than 6.2% in 2018. A total of 48.3% scored credits, an increase from 41% in 2018.
“In English and SST, performance improved at the distinction level. Overall pass level rose in Science although performance at the distinction level dropped sharply. In both English and Mathematics performance was poor in questions where candidates were required to apply knowledge in problem-solving situations or express themselves freely. Candidates were more comfortable with questions that are direct and based on recall. This situation has persisted over the years,” Mr Odongo said.
Mr Odongo, however, said there was an improvement in candidates’ handwriting.
“Candidates also organized and presented their work more clearly even when the answers are wrong. The number of candidates scoring zero has also reduced greatly compared to previous years,” he said.
