UPE schools can compete

By Antony MugeereSCHOOLS under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme continued to rub shoulders with the traditional schools in the PLE results released last week. Bat Valley Primary school edged out Nakasero Primary School, last year’s surprise package in the top five bracket in Kampala district. Sharrif Kikomeko, 12, came fourth in the district despite the fact that he was residing in a congested, slum area. For just sh20,000 a term, Kikomeko accomplished a feat that eluded many pupils from well established schools. His achievement-and that of many others in the same category has earned more sympathy for the candidates in UPE schools.But just like last year, Kampala topped the rest of the districts with 34% of the candidates passing in Division One, up from 29.3% the previous year. It was followed by Wakiso 24%, Rukungiri 16.9%, Mbarara 14.5% and Kanungu 12.5%.On the other hand, Kibaale dislodged Katakwi as the worst performing district this year with just 0.8% of the candidates passing in Division One. It was followed from the bottom by Adjumani and Kyenjojo, each with 1% in Division One. Nakapiripit (1.1%), Kayunga (1.4%) and Kaberamaido (1.7%) followed in that order.Analysts say the dismal performance in Katakwi, Nakapiripit and Kaberamaido could be due to the wave of insecurity unleashed by Karimojong warriors over the past years. A number of schools in Katakwi and neighbouring districts were forced to close due to raids from the Karimojong warriors. Many teachers were also forced to leave the district.It is, however, not clear why Kibaale, Kayunga and Kyenjojo also fell into this category. Though they are equally new, the three districts are quite stable and attract more teachers than those neighbouring Karamoja region. Kayunga, in particular, was a major surprise because it was recently curved out of Mukono which ranked among the top 10 districts in the examinations. The overall performance of candidates by subject followed the usual tradition. Social Studies (SST) was performed best followed by Basic Science and Health Education. As usual, English and Mathematics were the worst done subjects.The reasons for the candidates’ poor performance ranged from poor English language proficiency to teaching methodology. Some candidates failed to understand what they were doing due to lack of comprehension skills. No wonder, some scored zero (0) after seven years of education. Lack of child-centred teaching methods is also to blame for the poor performance. Some teachers use rote and lecture methods. The learners are therefore not motivated at all. Such methods not only bore pupils but also fail to prepare candidates for the challenges of higher cognitive level questions.The situation was made worse by concentrating on coaching and failure to cover the syllabus by teachers due to absenteeism. One wonders what will happen now that the syllabus has even been broadened.But the main striking point in these results was the fact that the results of 12,065 candidates from 322 centres were cancelled for cheating and other forms of examination malpractices. This was despite the fact that UNEB deployed about 600 scouts in 1,050 examination centres countrywide.For districts like Hoima, Kayunga, Mbarara Municipality and Iganga, where strategic deployment of scouts was done, there were no cases of examination malpractice. But those that were not covered including Rukungiri, Mubende, Kamwenge, Kyenjojo, Mukono, Mpigi and Kapchorwa topped the list of offenders. But whether UNEB will ever get the capacity to deploy scouts in all parts of the country, the fact is that examination cheats are undermining our education system. Cases of headteachers who write examination answers for candidates on the blackboard, classroom doors or decide to coach their candidates an hour to the exam are shocking. But nothing, not even the presence of scouts at every examination centre will eliminate the evil without the co-operation of the teachers themselves.