KAMPALA – Education and sports minister First Lady Janet Museveni called for the relaxation of the selection criteria at Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education, process she says will allow more learners to peruse science courses.
Mrs. Museveni was on Thursday morning releasing UACE 2019 results at the office of the president conference hall in Kampala.
“I learnt in 2016 that part of the low numbers of students taking sciences could be attributed to the very stringent selection criteria by schools – that is by admitting only students with distinction scores at UCE. I then appealed to schools to relax this unrealistic demand because a child with a credit three or four at UCE should be able to comfortably study a science subject at UACE.
“I want to reiterate that appeal now because Mathematics and sciences are at the heart of industrial development, which is crucial to taking our country to another level,” said Mrs. Museveni.
The Minister who advised the candidates who didn’t make it their preferable courses in tertiary institutions “not to give up”
“There is always another chance. Those who didn’t make it their favorite courses or tertiary institutions should not despair,” the minister said.
“Many parents and candidates themselves will most likely be aiming for university education. It is indeed a commendable goal. However, I wish to encourage the candidates to take up vocational education,” she added.
A total of 104,476 candidates registered for the 2019 UACE from 2,298 centers, which is an improvement, compared to the 99,516 candidates from 2,094 centers in 2018.
