By The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has announced an overall improvement in the 2024 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) results compared to 2023, despite a slight decline in the number of candidates achieving Division One.
During the release of the results at State House Nakasero on January 23, UNEB Chairperson Prof. Celestino Obua highlighted a notable reduction in failure rates.
“While there is a slight decrease in the number of candidates obtaining Division One, the failure rates have dropped significantly,” Prof. Obua said.
The board reported an increase in the participation and performance of candidates with special needs. Prof. Obua specifically noted a marked improvement among deaf candidates.
“In 2023, 44% of deaf candidates were ungraded. This year, the proportion dropped to 23%, demonstrating significant progress,” Prof. Obua stated. However, he emphasized the financial strain in providing special examination arrangements due to budget constraints.
UNEB Executive Director, Mr. Daniel Odongo, revealed a drop in distinctions across all subjects, attributing it to challenges in answering questions requiring higher-order thinking skills.
The 2024 results showed that 84,301 candidates scored Division One, a decrease from 86,582 in 2023. Meanwhile, 397,589 candidates passed in Division Two, 165,284 in Division Three, and 75,556 in Division Four. Unfortunately, 64,251 candidates were ungraded and will need to repeat Primary Seven.
Despite the dip in distinctions, Mr. Odongo noted an improvement in the overall pass rate, with 91.8% of candidates passing in 2024 compared to 88.0% in 2023.
Boys outperformed girls overall in the 2024 PLE, recording higher numbers in Division One and lower failure rates. According to the results, 45,203 boys passed in Division One compared to 39,098 girls. Boys also had fewer ungraded candidates (28,110) than girls (36,141).
However, girls performed better in English, while boys excelled in Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science, maintaining previous trends.
The number of candidates sitting for the 2024 PLE rose to 797,444 from 14,883 centers, up from 749,347 in 2023. Of these, 524,025 (65.7%) were Universal Primary Education (UPE) beneficiaries, while 273,419 (34.3%) attended non-UPE schools.
“Overall candidature increased by 48,190 (6.4%) compared to the previous year,” Mr. Odongo explained, adding that girls accounted for 52.5% of candidates in 2024, consistent with recent trends.
Absenteeism among candidates reached its lowest level in five years. Out of the registered candidates, 789,981 sat for the exams, with only 10,463 absent, compared to 12,323 in 2023.
“The significant reduction in absenteeism marks a positive trend, making 2024 the lowest absentee rate in the past five years,” Mr. Odongo concluded.
