Scrap PLE, planning authority tells Government

The NPA experts told the Education Policy Review Commission (EPRC) that PLE had increased the number of school dropouts and exacerbated cases of teenage pregnancies and child marriages.

The NPA executive director, Dr. Joesph Muvawala, argued that it is contradictory to use a summative exam in the middle of the education system and then eliminate half of the children.

“It is contradictory to use a summative exam in the middle of the education system an then you eliminate half of the children. As a team, we are very strong on this matter because we look at the numbers that Government is losing at Primary Seven,” Muvawala said.

The NPA executive director also argued that the way PLE is administered is unfair to many pupils who considered dull when they fail.

“A 13-year old can never be a failure for God’s sake. How do we name that human resource failure? And we are very proud to say that child is a failure? We should find another way of progressing children from Primary Seven to Secondary,” he told the Commission.

In the most recently released PLE results, a total of 811,810 sat for the examinations out of the 832,654 who registered.

Out of those who sat, 114,617 passed in first grade, 357,799 passed in grade two, 146,583 in third grade, and 95,702 passed in fourth grade while 97,109 were not graded.

This means that a total of 714,702 out of 811,810 who sat for the universal examinations have passed the examinations and can proceed to post-primary education, according to UNEB.