The Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) has expressed its concern about the decreasing number of female candidates sitting for the Uganda Advance Certificate Examinations (UACE).

Dr. Dan Odongo, the UNEB Executive Secretary, said out of the 110,553 candidates registered for the 2023 UACE examination, only 47,226 were female, representing 42.7% of the total learners.

He made the remarks during the release of the 2023 UACE results on Thursday, March 7, 2024, in which a total of 109,488 candidates sat for the exams, compared to 96,557 in 2022.

He said that the number of candidates showing interest in science subjects has increased.

The numbers of candidates registering for science subjects are gradually increasing, with mathematics showing the greatest promise,” Dr. Odongo said.

According to Odongo, a total of 80,643 (73.7%) of all the 2023 UACE candidates qualify to be admitted to the university, compared to 67,815 (70.3%) in 2022.

“This is consistent with the fact that there was better overall performance and a significant increase in entries for the examination in 2023. In cases where one principal and two subsidiary pass levels are considered for admission to other tertiary institutions, 90.7% of the candidates will qualify. This is better when compared to 2022, where 89.3% of the candidates qualified,” Dr. Odongo added.

Prof. Celestino Obua, the UNEB Chairperson, noted that, whereas the Board is concerned about the dwindling number of female candidates, they performed better, proportionally, than the males at all levels.

“Even at individual subject levels, they have shown better performance. However, we continue to see a low percentage of the female candidates at this level offering mathematics and science combinations,” Prof. Obua said.

According to Prof. Obua, the entries for science subjects at UACE continue to be lower than for humanity subjects.

“The performance of the candidates has improved, especially at the upper level of candidates obtaining three principal passes. The paradox is that the girls who offer STEM subjects perform well, if not better than the boys. Why then do the girls shy away from science subjects?” Prof. Obua wondered.

A total of 110,553 candidates registered for the 2023 UACE examination from 2,102 centers, compared to 97,890 candidates from 1,969 centers in 2022. This represented an increase of 12,663 candidates (12.9%). Of these, 47,226 were female and 63,339 were male.