There has been a significant reduction in cases of malpractice compared to previous years, according to Dan Odongo, the UNEB Executive Director. He made these remarks during the release of the UCE 2024 results.
Odongo stated that there were 64 reported cases involving a total of 984 candidates suspected of malpractice, compared to nearly 3,000 suspected last year. He also noted that the nature of the items in the papers does not lend themselves to malpractice.
“The cases reported are mostly in the science practical papers, with Physics being the most affected. Of the cases, 883 (93.1%) are in the sciences, and only 65 (6.9%) are in other subjects,” Odongo said.
He further noted that there is overwhelming evidence that candidates were given experimental results by teachers simply to copy. “The work done by the candidates does not relate to the results recorded,” the UNEB Executive Director explained.
While providing details about the number of students who sat for the UCE 2024 exams, Odongo mentioned that a total of 10,141 candidates from 1,028 schools had registered for the exams. Among them, 4,369 were male, and 5,373 were female.
A total of 359,417 candidates were registered as the first cohort for the examination. Of these, 177,133 (49.3%) were male, and 182,284 (50.7%) were female. Additionally, 136,785 (38.1%) were beneficiaries of the USE programme, while 222,632 (61.9%) were non-USE.
He also reported that 357,120 (99.4%) candidates were present for the examination, and only 2,297 (0.6%) were absent. He added that the absenteeism rate was also low compared to previous years.
Prison Inmates Excel in UCE 2024
Regarding prison inmates, Odongo stated that in the Uganda Government Upper Prisons School, Luzira, 28 candidates were registered. Of the 28 candidates, 27 sat for the examination, while one did not.
At Mbarara Main Prison Inmates’ Secondary School, 11 candidates were registered, and all of them sat for the examination.
“All inmates qualified for the UCE certificate,” Odongo said, adding that a candidate qualifies for the UCE certificate if they obtain a competency level grade of D in at least one subject sat.
