The Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) has directed all head teachers of secondary schools preparing students for the 2024 end-of-cycle examinations to submit the number of senior three students offering the optional subjects in the New Lower Secondary Curriculum (NLSC).
The Ministry of Education introduced the new lower secondary curriculum with concerned students now slated to sit their new examinations next year.
In reference to a circular addressed to all school heads across the country, the executive director of UNEB, Daniel Odongo raised that schools are expected to use the template provided by the Board, pinpointing that the data is required for planning for the assessment of the new lower secondary curriculum.
In February 2020, government made a revamp to the lower secondary curriculum with the aim of boosting learner’s skills in grasping content.
The new curriculum has since seen a reduction in the number of subjects from 43 to 21 across the entire four years of study from senior one to four.
In the new approved curriculum, schools now teach 12 subjects at senior one and two, out of which 11 are compulsory while one is an optional.
Students in senior three and four exit with a minimum of eight or a maximum of nine subjects with seven of them being compulsory.Â
Some of the compulsory subjects are English, Mathematics, History, Geography, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Physical Education, and Religious Education.
Under the new curriculum, teachers are expected to compile the learners’ achievements under a four years’ assessment study, find an average score and submit it to the board to contribute at least 20 per cent in the final national examinations grading.