SUB-MATH, ICT EXAMS FOR NEXT YEAR

By: PATIENCE AHIMBISIBWE
KAMPALA- Pioneer Form Six candidates of sub-math and ICT subsidiary subjects will, for now, not sit for their final examinations after the government deferred the papers to next year.

According to the minister of Education, Ms Jessica Alupo, many schools have, until now not acquired equipment to facilitate the sitting of the exams.
This has been compounded by the fact that most schools have no access to power, lack computers and teachers.

As a result, this has forced the government to push exams for the two papers to next year when the next lot will sit.
The minister’s remarks come after critics said the government wasn’t ready to implement the policy.

Ms Jessica Alupo, minister of Education

“It is true ICT was made compulsory but the policy was adopted with the view that computers would have been distributed to all schools by the time pioneer students sit for their papers, but we didn’t have the intervention,” Ms Alupo told Daily Monitor in an interview.

“For this academic year, sub-math and ICT will not be part of the subjects to determine any candidates’ results.”

Decision taken
“We have taken a decision that they would not be compulsory until next year. We hope by the end of next year, all schools would have been taken care of.”

Earlier, the Makerere University academic registrar, Mr Charles Ssentongo, said the Public Universities Joint Admissions Board had issued a new criterion to candidates following the directive scrapping four principal subjects.

The maximum points a candidate could score reduced from 25 to 20.
However, the latest development leaves candidates with a maximum of 19 points to join any of the five public universities on government scholarship.
Ms Alupo said the ministry would still have to consult National Council for Higher Education and National Curriculum Development Centre to see how they could exclusively train ICT teachers.