By Enatu Steven
The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has released the 2024 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) results, showcasing improved performance among Special Needs Education (SNE) candidates. However, concerns have been raised about some schools abusing special needs provisions to gain unfair advantages for their pupils.
The results highlight significant strides in performance among SNE candidates, particularly those in the deaf category. In 2023, 44% of these candidates were ungraded, but this dropped to 23% in 2024—a testament to targeted interventions aimed at supporting marginalized learners.
Prof Celestino Obua-UNEB chairperson said “the results show that the 2024 SNE candidates have also done well, especially the category of the deaf candidates who had appeared most disadvantaged in the previous years”
UNEB noted, however, a worrying trend of schools registering high-performing pupils with health conditions such as asthma, epilepsy, and sickle cell anemia under the “Others” category of special needs. While these pupils are entitled to 45 extra minutes due to potential health-related challenges, UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo emphasized that such students do not require additional specialized assistance.
The board cautioned schools against exploiting this provision to gain an unfair edge in national examinations.
At the Uganda Government Upper Prison in Luzira, where 71 candidates registered (up from 69 in 2023), performance remained steady. Of the 59 who sat for the exams, 4 passed in Division 1, 36 in Division 2, and 13 in Division 3. The overall performance improved, with 91.8% of candidates passing in 2024 compared to 88.0% in 2023, though the number of Division 1 achievers dropped.
This year’s PLE registered 797,444 candidates from 14,883 schools, a rise from 749,347 in 2023. Of these, 65.7% were Universal Primary Education (UPE) beneficiaries, with the remainder from private schools. More girls (52.5%) than boys (47.5%) completed the examination cycle, continuing a positive trend for female education.