Budo sets cut-off at 13

By John EremuKING’S College Budo and Mt. St. Mary’s College Namagunga this year posted the highest cut-off points for S.5 entry.The selection exercise that closes at Kyambogo University today, saw Budo taking only boys with aggregate 13 in the best eight subjects, up from last year’s 15. It, however, relaxed the entry points for girls from last year’s 16 to 17.The entry points for the top and some randomly selected schools were as follows: Kibuli 15 (for boys) and 17 (girls); Kisubi, Gayaza, Namilyango and Nabisunsa 16.Ntare 20, Mengo and Mary Hill 22, Mwiri College 23, Jinja College and Bweranyangi 25, Kiira College Butiki 26, Iganga SS 28, Teso College and Kitante Hill 29.Old Kampala stopped at aggregate 31, Tororo Girls, Muntuyera High and St. Joseph’s Layibi 33, Kako, Kigezi College Butobere and Kabalega 34, St. Peter’s College Tororo 35, Manjasi High 37, Ibanda SS 38, St. Charles Lwanga Koboko 40, Lango College 42 and Kololo SS 42, Jinja SS and Sir Samuel Baker 45 and St. Catherine Lira 47. While headteachers of up-country schools were finding it hard to fill their admission quotas due to limited applicants, their counterparts from the top-performing schools were busy selling excess students. Budo and Namagunga together sold over 700 applicants, some with aggregate 13. Some up-country schools admitted students with aggregate 56.According to the admissions guidelines, a candidate needed to have obtained a minimum of a credit six in all the three subjects which form a combination for a course in Senior Five. A candidate with a credit three in political education qualifies to take history at Senior Five even if such a student did not offer history at O’level. Likewise, a candidate with a credit in mathematics qualifies for an Arts combination that includes economics even if he or she did not do commerce at O’level, the guidelines said. A total of 103,262 candidates did the 2001 O’level examinations but the 271 government-aided A’level schools will only take 22,575 students and private schools an equal number. The 45 Primary Teacher Colleges will take 7,380 and the 37 technical institutes another 4,580. The rest of the candidates might, therefore, be left stranded.