By East African Gazette
Ssenkumba Seoul of Alakara Junior School Mukono- Kigombya Mukono Municipality said his loyalty and Respect contributed to his success in last year’s 2023 Primary Leaving Exams. He was among the best candidates in the school with aggregate 8.
Ssenkumba said on receiving the news that the results were out; got his full uniform that had been forgotten since the end of Exams like he was going for lessons.
He went to school and was received with excitement from his Head Teacher, staff in the presence of the school Director . Daniel Omoit who revealed to us that the best candidate Ayikun Joselyn Patience who scored 5 aggregates had not reached the school hence missing photo opportunities.
It’s at that moment that Ssenkumba stole show as He was lifted in the air by his colleague in the absence of star, Ssekumba was the only one present among the several that scored aggregates 8
![](https://eastafricangazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/S01-1024x680.jpg)
A total of 749,254 candidates from 15,859 centers (schools) registered for PLE in 2023 Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB).
Among the registered candidates included 69 are inmates from Upper Prison School, Luzira. Female candidates constituted 52%, while male candidates made up 48%.
The candidates were mainly from Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools constituting 79% totaling 501,619candidates, 21% from non-UPE centers with 247,728 candidates and 2,580 were candidates with Special Needs.
The 2023 examinations were conducted smoothly between November 7 and 8. Some 749,254 candidates from 15,859 centres registered for the exams compared to 832,654 in 2022 – representing a decrease of 83,400 (10 per cent) candidates.
Of the total candidature, 357,755 (47.7 per cent) were boys compared to 391,499 (52.25 per cent) girls. This has been the trend in the last seven years, and the gap has been slowly widening.
The Minister of Education Museveni said selection exercises of Senior One will take place on February 1-2. Museveni said this will enable the Senior One cohort of 2024 to begin on February 19.
![](https://eastafricangazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/S03-1024x680.jpg)
Museveni said “The number of special needs education learners who sit PLE are increasing, not because we are having more children with disabilities, but the sensitization being done and the realization by more parents.
She added “these children must not be kept at home but that they also must go to school, just like all the children”.
She appreciated the educationists that it remains a costly process for the examination and assessment of this category of learners.
“Am happy to note that the negative development of absentee candidates of PLE has been reversed. When a child fails to show up for the end-of-cycle examination, it is a waste of that life, which has been spent six to seven years” she said.