Educationists in Moroto District have raised concern over the poor performance in the recently released joint mock examinations, urging teachers, parents and communities to intensify efforts ahead of the 2026 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE). The concern was raised by the Moroto District Academic Board while releasing mock examination results for 18 primary schools in the district.
The results show that only 13 pupils, representing 1.1 percent of the candidates who sat the examinations, attained Division One, while 276 pupils, or 23.6 percent, scored Division Two. A further 160 pupils, representing 13.7 percent, attained Division Three, while 315 pupils, or 27.01 percent, were graded in Division Four. The majority of the candidates, 396 pupils representing 33.9 percent, were graded Division U, while six pupils, equivalent to 0.51 percent, were graded X after missing some examination papers.
The board also expressed concern over absenteeism, noting that out of 1,225 pupils registered for the PLE, only 1,166 sat for the mock examinations. The candidates who sat included 624 boys and 542 girls. Board Chairperson James Etelu said boys generally performed better than girls, particularly among the top performers. He noted that 12 of the 13 pupils who attained Division One were boys, while only one girl attained the top division. Etelu, however, said performance varied across subjects, with boys recording pass rates of 86 percent in Mathematics and 87 percent in Social Studies, while girls performed better in Science and English, recording 91 percent and 88 percent respectively.
Vision of Africa, a private school, emerged as the best-performing school in the district, with 28 of its 31 registered pupils scoring between Division One and Division Three. The District Education Officer, Hellen Amulen Angidoi, urged head teachers and communities to encourage pupils to sit for examinations and other assessments, warning that absenteeism could undermine efforts to prepare candidates for the final PLE.
“A pupil can only assess himself or herself through exams; therefore, fear of failing should not be a reason for pupils to miss assessment exams,” Amulen said. She also warned head teachers against sending pupils home over assessment fees or denying them access to examinations in government-aided schools. Amulen said such practices should stop immediately, warning that head teachers who continue to deny pupils access to assessments risk losing their jobs.
The district education authorities are now calling for closer supervision of candidates, improved preparation and greater involvement of parents and communities as schools enter the final phase of preparations for the national examinations. Meanwhile, the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) released the 2026 national examinations timetable on September 22.
According to the timetable, Primary Leaving Examination candidates will be briefed on Friday, October 30, before beginning their written papers in early November. Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) candidates will begin with briefing on Thursday, October 8, with their examinations running until Tuesday, November 3. Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) candidates will be briefed on Friday, November 7, with their examinations scheduled to run until Friday, December 5-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
