UCE 2024: Kole’s Theatre of Wisdom excels

Wisdom High School in Akalo, Kole district, achieved a perfect score in the recently released UCE results 2024 under the new curriculum.

On Tuesday, February 11, 2025, the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) released the results for candidates who registered and took the 2024 examinations.

In his address, Dan Odongo, the UNEB Executive Director, highlighted the impressive attendance rate, with 357,120 candidates (99.4%) participating in the exams, while only 2,297 candidates (0.6%) were absent.

According to Odongo, 359,417 candidates were registered, with 177,133 men (49.3%) and 182,284 women (50.7%). Among these, 136,785 candidates (38.1%) received Universal Secondary Education (USE) benefits, while 222,632 candidates (61.9%) were enrolled as non-USE students.

Odongo noted that the new curriculum is significantly different from the previous system, which ranked candidates into divisions. The competency-based assessment now evaluates performance using achievement levels denoted by letters A, B, C, D, and E.

Candidates qualify for a UCE certificate by attaining at least a grade D in any subject. UNEB reported that 350,146 candidates (98.05%) met this criterion, which will be reflected as ‘Results 1’ on their transcripts.

Candidates who did not meet the qualification requirements—either by missing compulsory subjects, failing to sit for at least eight subjects, or lacking project work scores—will have ‘Results 2’ on their transcripts.

Wisdom does well!

Ambrose Ogwal, Executive Director of Wisdom High School in Akalo Town Council, Kole, spoke at a press conference on Tuesday.

Ogwal, who represents secondary school teachers on the UNATU Executive Council, thanked parents, teachers, and students for their outstanding performance.

He proudly announced that all 148 candidates who registered for the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) in 2024 under the new curriculum had passed their exams.

Ogwal cautioned other schools not to celebrate the recent examination results. He emphasized that the results should not be celebrated, as many people are unaware of the new curriculum’s implications.

According to him, the term “results One” implies that all candidates are eligible to receive a certificate, which can be misleading. It implies that a candidate could have passed one subject while failing all others.

He stated that the public needs to understand the new curriculum’s grading system. An “A” represents exceptional achievement, indicating that a candidate has earned a distinction.

A “B” represents credit, which denotes exceptional performance, whereas a “C” represents satisfactory performance. A “D” indicates a pass, while a “E” indicates failure, which is classified as elementary in the new curriculum.

Under the old curriculum, Wisdom High School ranked first in Lango and Northern Uganda in 2023, and 25th nationally out of 2,014 schools with candidates who took the final exams.

Martin Ojok, the head teacher of St Gracious Secondary School, stated that all 182 candidates who sat exams passed. Tumusiime Umar, the school’s best candidate, received an A8.

“We achieved these results because of our staff’s teamwork, as well as our faith in God. At the moment, we have an enrollment of 900 learners,” Ojok said.

Doctor Obote College Boroboro, another government-aided school, has done well, with all of its students qualifying for certificate awards. They fall under “results One,” according to Tom Ogwang, the deputy head teacher.

Doctor Obote College is the best among government-aided schools in the Lango subregion.

“Our candidates were 136, we managed to get them pass with the best subjects, like Maths, Chemistry and Biology. “The majority of them are in grades A, B, and C,” Ogwang said.