The Ministry of Education and Sports has said that wealthy students with low test scores are getting admitted into prestigious schools, while those from low-income families who meet the requirements are being turned away. This is due to the affordability with which wealthy students can purchase their way onto the admissions list.

According to the ministry, around 133,000 kids were not placed in Senior One, even though they were eligible, which they attribute to the high level of competitiveness and school capacity that has left many students with strong marks stuck in favour of children whose parents pay for admissions and slots in the school.

Dr. Jane Okou Egau, the Undersecretary at the Ministry of Education, also doubling as the Chairperson of the Placement Committee, has said that the ministry learned that there are schools with cut-off points of five and six, yet go ahead and register those with 11 and 12 points.

She made these remarks on February 5, 2024, while guiding the way forward for students who missed placements.

“It has come to our attention that schools with cut-off points of 6 have gone ahead and registered those with aggregates of 8, 9, and even 12. This is wrong; do not admit learners who do not qualify,” Egau said.

One of the parents who revealed on condition of anonymity said that their son was turned down for admittance to St. Mary’s College Kisubi, which was his first choice, with six aggregates, yet the admissions list possesses over 200 students with similar or higher marks.

“These big schools reserve places for some ministry officials for students who got marks above the cut-off points, especially those who never put choices in those schools in the first place, and these officials put the school heads under pressure to admit their children with bribes and threats,” the disappointed parent revealed.

He further added that his son was sold to another school, all in the name of reserving placements for religious leaders, Ministry of Education officials’ children, and government or high-ranking officials.

However, the Ministry of Education warned that all students who got admitted to such schools without meeting the requirements would not be registered for the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) under those schools. These categories of students will be required to register elsewhere to write their Senior Four or Six national exams.

“Do not admit learners who do not qualify, because UNEB will not register them for UCE and UACE. It is painful for a child to study in a school for four years and not register there,” Dr. Egau said.

This follows UNEB’s guidelines it announced to the school heads during the selection process in regard to schools admitting children who don’t meet cut-off points but got admitted to such schools.