There has been a significant drop in the subjects of English, Commerce and History in the just released 2019 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) results.
This is despite a general improvement in the science subjects like Biology, Agriculture and Chemistry.
This was revealed by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) Executive Secretary Mr Daniel Odongo in his remarks during the release of the 2019 UCE results.
Mr Odongo said that the failure of such subjects clearly indicates that teachers are not training students on how to handle and interpret questions, but rather just helping them pass without getting the real concept.
“By the time you fail English then how will you interpret questions in other subjects,” Mr Odongo.
“Females have performed better than Males in the English language. This has always happened over the years. However, the boys manage to make their way around in other subjects and beat the girls,” he added.
Mrs Janet Museveni the Education and Sports minister could not hold back her disappointment on the same matter.
When her turn came to speak, she said that the English subject has degenerated into encouraging learners to cram passages without genuinely learning the language.
“Students today use highly sounding words to impress, some of them don’t even know the meanings. All these are aimed at making leaners pass without making them understand. This needs to stop as it is not helping our students,” Mrs Museveni said.
The minister also lauded UNEB in its efforts to fight against malpractice, a vice which she said has greatly reduced compared to the previous years.
“Malpractice at UCE2019 level has significantly reduced. We should recognize UNEB’s efforts in making this happen. It should be viewed as a way of fighting corruption,” she said.
The News Editor ,Reporter at Kagadi Kibaale community Radio
