Government has not planned for at least 52,000 students who sat for 2019 Primary Leaving Examinations as the Senior One selection exercise at the Uganda Manufacturer's Association conference hall goes on.
683,303 candidates sat for P.L.E in 2019, According to the Uganda National Examinations Board. However, out of the number, 617,151 passed the examinations and were eligible for joining secondary school or any polytechnic of their choice.
But, the Ministry of Education plans to place only 564,856 students in the available secondary schools and polytechnic institutions, leaving 52,295 students in the wind. It remains unclear where these will end up.
The education ministry says that the lists that are used during selection are generated by a computer system that determines where candidates will go depending on their performance and where they placed their choices. However in some cases, some students who do not make good choices end up not having anywhere to go.
Kule Benson, the chairperson of the School Placement Committee says that the ministry has catered for all students and that some of the candidates are missing because they are not guided well during the school choice making process.
294,916 candidates will be placed in government Universal Secondary Schools. 237,120 candidates will be placed in private secondary schools in the country while 4,380 candidates will be placed in different Business Technical Vocational Education and Training Institutions.
Many secondary schools have maintained cut off points from last year in the ongoing Senior 1 section exercise.
