Among schools expected to admit students are the 699 government aided schools taking up 99,950. 261 private secondary schools admitting 23,630 students and 73 BTVET institutions that have slots for 3,650 students. The 119 schools without universal post ‘O’ level education training will take up 20,610 students while 45 Primary Teachers Colleges will take 8,119 students. Many traditional schools lowered their cut-off points contrary to last year. “But I am saying everybody whoever qualifies to go to the next level you should make sure is placed.”
Gayaza High School placed its cut-off points at 14, St. Henry’s College Kitovu at 15, Mount. St. Henry’s College in Namagunga at 12, Makerere College School at 15 for boys and 16 for girls, Gombe SS at 18 for boys and 20 for girls, others are Mary Hill High School Mbarara at 20 points while Old Kampala SS at 34 for boys and 40 for girls, Mengo SS at 20 for boys and 21 for girls, Masaka SS at 21 for Science students and 30 points for Arts students.
For Gerald Ssewanyanya a Head Teacher and other teachers, opportunities are to be given students who may have failed to get desired marks in the National Exams but have the capacity. “After this intake, we go ahead and increase the number of points or aggregates, because if you leave out all these ones then our parents and students would be at a disadvantage.” “Students have got different backgrounds and different schools where they performed. So you may find that a child has scored 45 when he has been studying in a very poor school and when he joins a good school like ours, you may find that that student will do well.” Said, Ssewanyana Gerald – Head Teacher.
The Minister for Higher Education John Chrysostom Muyingo challenged schools with withheld results to wait for a conclusion of investigations by UNEB. “So it is withholding for a purpose of investigating, so after these investigations are completed, UNEB comes back to the Minister and say; these ones its true they committed the offenses and this is what they deserve.” Muyingo said the Ministry was investigating claims that some candidates had borrowed results that enabled them to sit last year’s ‘O’ level examinations.
