The 2024 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) results, released today, have revealed that girls continue to outperform their male counterparts. According to the results, 26,928 girls (43.7%) passed with three principal passes, surpassing the 34.6% of boys who achieved the same. In addition, 43,890 girls (71.2%) attained two principal passes, compared to 48,383 boys (61.1%).
This trend reflects a broader pattern, with females performing better at the principal level (A-E) across several subjects, including humanities, Physics, and General Paper. UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo noted that this has been a consistent trend over the years. However, he also highlighted that female participation in science and mathematics subjects has historically been lower than that of males, although recent years have seen a steady increase.
For example, the number of female candidates studying Mathematics grew from 8,942 in 2019 to 19,863 in 2024, while the number of females sitting for Physics exams increased from 2,058 in 2019 to 5,836 last year.
In the prisons category, 93.8% of the 48 candidates who sat for exams were male, with 25 candidates (52.1%) obtaining three principal passes, qualifying for the UACE certificate.
Meanwhile, UNEB’s decision not to assign numerical values to the new UACE grading system has caused some confusion. During the release of the results, UNEB Board Chairperson Professor Celestino Obua addressed concerns raised by various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education and Sports. He emphasized that despite mounting pressure, the board would not assign numerical values to the grades (A-E), as this contradicts the objectives of the new curriculum.
“We acknowledge that the Ministry of Education and Sports has faced significant pressure to assign numerical values to Grades A-E. The Board understands the gravity of this concern under the new curriculum. However, we will not add numerical values to these grades, as this is not the intent of the new curriculum,” Professor Obua explained.
He also clarified that universities and other institutions that use UACE results for admissions are free to continue using their own point systems, as they have done in the past. “It should be noted that the numerical values, such as 6 for A, 5 for B, and so on, were never introduced by UNEB. These values were created by post-secondary institutions to help establish their own admission criteria,” he added.
The new grading system has sparked confusion among students, parents, and teachers, mirroring similar concerns that arose after the release of the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) results.
