The Government has announced plans to provide assistance at Universal Secondary Education (USE) implementing schools to support candidates of the old curriculum who wish to repeat Senior Four.
First Lady and Minister for Education and Sports, Mrs. Janet Museveni, made the announcement while releasing the 2023 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exam results at State House, Nakasero in Kampala on February 15, 2024.
Mrs. Museveni stated that the Ministry of Education will communicate with all headteachers to gather necessary information to facilitate the allocation of resources for this category of students. Additionally, she emphasized that learners repeating Senior Four will be given ample time to prepare and retake the UCE exams in 2024 based on the old lower secondary curriculum.
The Ministry of Education analyzed the situation and ensured that no learner repeating Senior Four under the old Lower Secondary Curriculum will be disadvantaged in the transitional arrangement. Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) will conduct further studies and formulate a roadmap, which will be communicated to the public to facilitate preparations for registering repeaters.
Previously, UNEB had planned to hold examinations for repeaters in June/July, but this arrangement will now be reviewed in light of the new announcement from the First Lady. Mrs. Museveni commended UNEB for its efforts in ensuring a smooth transition from the old lower secondary curriculum to the new competence-based curriculum.
She encouraged eligible persons wishing to repeat UCE under the old curriculum to take advantage of this opportunity in 2024 and register for the exams once UNEB makes the new announcement. Mrs. Museveni clarified that the 2024 UCE examinations will be based on the new lower secondary school competence-based curriculum, but repeaters under the old curriculum will not be subjected to the assessment and examination processes of the revised curriculum.
UNEB Chairperson, Prof. Celestino Obua, outlined measures the board is taking to address challenges related to the transition. UNEB will administer a one-off transitional examination later in the year, targeting specific categories of candidates, including those who sat the 2023 UCE examinations but wish to repeat, candidates who registered but did not sit the examination, candidates who dropped out due to illness or other conditions, and those who missed registration for the 2023 examination for various reasons, including adult learners studying on their own or at any learning facility.
Will the repeater go back to school for studies or will stay at home