The Education minister Janet Kataha Museveni has expressed concern over an increase in the number of male puipils dropping out of the primary school cycle at the expense of their female counterparts which she says requires serious attention.
Janet who is also the First Lady made the observation today during the release of PLE results for 2023 at Nakasero State Lodge in Kampala.
The statistics issued by UNEB indicate that they are seeing an undesirable trend whereby more and more girls are completing the primary education cycle while boys are increasingly dropping out.
“I have observed a concerning trend regarding the boy child. More and more girls are completing the PLE cycle while more boys are dropping out. Why is the boy child not completing primary Education? – Janet Museveni stated.
Last year, 357,755 pupils representing 47 percent of registered candidates were boys compared to 391,499 girls who represent a bigger 52.25 percent and this has been the trend in the last seven years with the gap slowly widening each year. She said it is a moment for the education sector in Uganda to prescribe solutions that address the fundamental causes to prevent this negative trend from getting out of control.
Released PLE results also showed that a total of 88,269 failed the exams and therefore cannot proceed to Senior One level, another concern that was highlighted by the minister.
“From Executive Director’s report, I observe that a number of candidates did not qualify for the PLE certificates (Ungraded). The government is going to ensure that this trend is reversed. I have instructed the Permanent Secretary [of Education Ministry] to work out something to ensure that such pupils are given an opportunity to repeat Primary Seven in public schools so that we can support them.” Janet Museveni remarked.
She said she had already instructed the Permanent Secretary for the Education Ministry to communicate to respective accounting officers in the local governments to accord another opportunity to these learners to repeat primary seven in all public schools but also work hard with them to better their grade so as to qualify for various opportunities beyond P7.
“Furthermore, as a ministry we are going to review the arrangement where learners are being progressed to the next class before attaining the minimum knowledge and skills as evidence of learning. It is a disservice to move a learner to the next level when you as a teacher, you very well know that the child has not demonstrated minimum masterly of the appropriate knowledgeand skills in the previous class” Hon. Kataha noted.
“Therefore, I ask the Directorate of Education Standards to work with the District Education Officers to ensure that capacity is built in our schools to utilize formative assessment because promoting a learner to the next class simply because the year has come to an end is a disservice to that child, the education and the country” She added.