The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has officially released the 2024 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) results, revealing notable trends in subject performance, gender disparities, and challenges in critical thinking and practical application, particularly in science subjects.
According to UNEB, female candidates outperformed their male counterparts in humanities, Physics, and General Paper at the principal level (A-E), a trend that has been consistent in recent years. However, male candidates still had a higher overall entry for Sciences and Mathematics, although the number of female candidates in these subjects is gradually increasing.
The 2024 results showed a significant improvement in subjects such as Economics, Literature in English, Physics, and Biology. On the other hand, there were notable declines in Entrepreneurship Education, Christian Religious Education, Geography, Mathematics, Agriculture, and Chemistry.
Despite the improved performance in some areas, UNEB noted ongoing challenges in humanities subjects, where candidates struggled with question interpretation and critical thinking. In History, for example, many students showed difficulty in analyzing historical views and lacked exposure to the National Constitution, which is a key reference in some exam papers.
Science subjects continued to be a concern, with grades generally lower than in the humanities. Examiners highlighted that inadequate practical exposure remained a major issue, particularly in Physics, where many candidates failed to describe experimental procedures or interpret diagrams accurately. Some students provided experiment results without showing how they arrived at them, and struggled to relate scientific concepts to real-life applications.
In language subjects, candidates displayed a limited understanding of cultural practices, meanings of proverbs, and lacked the necessary vocabulary for translations and compositions.
Cases of examination malpractice remained relatively low, with incidents reported in 38 out of the 2,255 examination centers. UNEB announced that results from affected candidates would be withheld pending further investigations, in line with Section 5(2)(b) of the UNEB Act, Cap 259.
With the results now out, education stakeholders are expected to analyze these trends and find ways to enhance students’ understanding of key concepts, critical thinking, and practical application, especially in science-related subjects
