The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has expressed concern over the persistent issue of inadequate practical exposure in science subjects, which continues to affect student performance at the Advanced Level.
This was highlighted during the release of the 2024 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examination results.
“In the Sciences, the general problems of inadequate practical exposure continue to impact performance,” UNEB noted.
According to the board, many students struggled with describing experimental procedures and had difficulty interpreting experimental setups, particularly in physics.
“Many candidates could not describe experimental procedures and failed to interpret the experimental setup from the diagrams given in the question paper, especially in physics,” UNEB stated.
Additionally, UNEB pointed out that some students presented results from experiments without explaining how they were obtained. The inability to connect scientific concepts to real-life situations was also a major concern.
“Some candidates gave results from experiments without showing how they were obtained. There is also the challenge of relating science concepts to real-life situations,” UNEB observed.
However, the board highlighted significant improvements in some science subjects, such as Physics, while Biology showed notable progress.
However, there was a significant decline in performance in Geography, Mathematics, Agriculture, and Chemistry.
UNEB also revealed that the overall, grades in Science subjects remain lower compared to Humanities, which continue to perform better.
