A remarkable achievement unfolded as 108,492 out of 109,488 students who participated in the 2023 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Examinations (UACE) passed, signaling a higher percentage of eligibility for admission into universities and tertiary institutions, as reported by the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb).
Among the successful candidates, 52,452 attained 3 Principal passes, 28,191 secured 2 Principal passes, and 18,624 obtained one principal pass. Additionally, 9,225 students managed to pass with one subsidiary, while 996 students did not succeed out of the 110,553 candidates who registered for the exams.
At the announcement of the UACE exam results, Uneb’s executive director, Dan Odongo, disclosed that 99% of the candidates are eligible for the UACE certificate.
Further elaborating, he stated, “University admissions to degree courses have, up to date, been considering 2 Principal level passes as the minimum requirement. If this consideration is maintained, 80,643 (73.7%) qualify to be admitted, compared to 67,815 (70.3%) in 2022.”
Odongo emphasized the improved overall performance and a substantial increase in exam entries in 2023. Moreover, he highlighted that 90.7% of candidates qualify for admission to other tertiary institutions when considering one Principal and two Subsidiary passes, compared to 89.3% in 2022.
Female candidates, although fewer in number compared to males, exhibited superior performance. Odongo noted, “The percentage passes at the upper levels (3P and 2P) are higher, while percentage passes at the lower levels and failure rate among female candidates are lower than for the males. This has been the observed trend in the last three years.”
Uneb observed a significant increase in the number of candidates registered for the 2023 UACE, totaling 12,663 (12.9%) more than in 2022. The gender distribution showed 47,226 females and 63,339 males, with a total of 109,488 candidates taking the exam. Additionally, 24,679 candidates were registered under the UPOLET program, constituting 22.3% of the total candidature, reflecting an increase from 17,321 in 2022.
Explaining the gender distribution under the UPOLET program, Odongo highlighted, “Of the candidates registered under the UPOLET program, 16,008 (14.5%) of the total candidature were males and only 8,671 (7.8%) were females. The greater number of students at UACE are not under the universal education programme, much less, the females. This may be related to the types of schools that offer UACE.”
