The Minister of Education and Sport, Ms Janet Kataha Museveni, said yesterday she was not satisfied with the performance of students in science subjects in the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams
During the publication of the 2022 UCE results, Ms Museveni said: “…the Ministry notes that the overall performance in the compulsory science subjects is not yet satisfactory this year, although there are some improvements.”
She added: “As you know, the government is committed to promoting the teaching and learning of science subjects. The Department of Education and Sport will be looking into this matter and may revisit our policies to address any concerns.”
Ms Museveni continued: “…the Ministry recognizes the poor performance in biology, which has been repeated by subsequent releases of the UCE results. This matter is currently being addressed through the intervention of curriculum reviews.”
She said the curriculum reviews aim to eliminate outdated information, reduce subject content overload and classroom contact hours, among other things, to free up time for research, talent development and creativity.
She added that the ministry hopes this will help improve learners’ performance.
This comes months after the government increased salaries for science teachers. The monthly salary of a secondary school science teacher is now between Shs 700,000 and Shs 4.2 million, up from Shs 795,000 to 858,000.
Under the new salary structure, a graduate science teacher in a government-sponsored institution will earn between Shs 700,000 and 900,000, while a college graduate will earn between Shs 1 and 1.4 million, depending on experience.
Ms Museveni assured arts teachers, who have gone on strike on several occasions because the government had not increased their salaries, that the ministry would not rest until a solution was found.
“When I talk about teachers, I also bring up the subject of art teachers. I can’t finish what I’m saying without mentioning the very important fact that the government expects art teachers to show their loyalty to God, their government and the children they teach…” she said .
She added: “Please leave the matter of your remuneration to your mother ministry – the Department of Education and Sport. I repeat today, this is our burden as a ministry. Go ahead and do your best and trust that God will do the rest.”
The minister also noted that cases of student absenteeism increased by 0.3 percent; something she said is of great importance to the ministry.
“This is especially true as these young people are in school for the full four years. They then register for exams only to end up missing out on the next level of education. So we need to find answers to those questions again, and we will,” she said.
Uganda National Examination Board (Uneb) Executive Director Dan Odongo said that a total of 345,695 candidates out of 349,459 who registered sat the UCE exams. Of these, 46,667 passed Division One, 76,745 Division Two, 88,690 Division Three and 117,837 Division Four.
A total of 15,756 failed the exams and are expected to repeat Senior Four.
Mr Odongo said there is an improvement in performance in the major entry subjects except Christian Religious Education, Biology and Commerce.
Mathematics performed better at the distinction level but declined overall. The English language improved at credit and total stock levels but declined at distinction levels.
Students in the Senior Five are expected to report to school for the first trimester on March 6th.
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