Poor performance in PLE attributed to low staffing levels
Authorities in schools have attributed the decline in PLE performance to the widened teacher-to-learner ratio in schools.
The head teachers say, compared to the PLE performance of 2022, there was a decline in the performance of 2023 PLE due to a low teacher-to-learner ratio.
Speaking to our reporter, Fredric Tumuhirwe, the head teacher at Uganda martyrs primary school in Mbarara said the government’s failure to recruit enough teachers may be one of reasons for poor performances in some schools.
According to Tumuhirwe, the government sometimes doesn’t immediately replace the retired teachers causing a teaching gap and low teacher to learner ratio.
Notably, last year, the ministry of finance, planning and economic development suspended recruitment of new government workers which has left many schools within Mbarara city grappling with staffing gaps.
According to Dan Odongo, the UNEB Executive Director, a total of 749,254 candidates registered for PLE in 2023, of whom 501,602 (66.9%) were Universal Primary Education (UPE) beneficiaries, while 247,652 (33.1%) were of the candidates were Non UPE.
