The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | History and Political Education emerged as the weakest-performed subject in the 2025 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations, despite generally strong results across most humanities and arts subjects.
Results released by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) indicate that 12,898 candidates out of the 429,949 who sat the examinations, representing 3.0 per cent, failed to attain the minimum level of competence in the subject and were awarded Grade E. This grade signifies a below-basic ability to apply acquired knowledge and skills to real-life situations.
The outcome marks a decline from the previous examination cycle, in which fewer candidates received Grade E in history and political education. Examiners attributed the drop to persistent challenges among learners in interpreting questions and applying concepts to given scenarios. The trend also mirrors the poor performance earlier recorded in Social Studies (SST) at the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), a subject conceptually linked to history and political education.
Speaking to our reporter on the sidelines of the results release, UNEB Executive Director Dan N. Odongo partly blamed the performance on teachers, noting that many have been slow to adjust to the demands of the competency-based curriculum.
“Over the years, there has been a lot of cramming in history under the previous curriculum, where learners focused mainly on memorising concepts,” Odongo explained. “But now, we present scenarios that require learners to relate content to everyday life.”
He emphasised that the new approach shifts focus away from rote memorisation. “It is no longer about cramming topics like the migration of the Bantu. Learners are now expected to apply the knowledge they acquire to real-life contexts.”
The competency-based curriculum, progressively rolled out for lower secondary since 2020, places greater emphasis on higher-order skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and contextual application. The reform aligns with national goals of producing graduates equipped to address 21st-century challenges rather than merely reproducing memorised facts.
Odongo observed that history teachers, in particular, appear not to have fully adapted to the new teaching and assessment approaches.
“Unlike other subjects, history teachers seem not yet to have adjusted well to the methods required under the new curriculum,” he said. “Many are still relying on traditional teaching practices.”
He suggested that similar instructional approaches across related disciplines could explain the consistent performance patterns observed in social studies and history, adding that there must be a link between teaching methods and the results.
Meanwhile, mathematics also registered challenges, with 2.7 per cent of candidates failing to attain basic competence and receiving Grade E. In contrast, physics recorded a notable improvement. Failure rates dropped sharply from 12.8 per cent in 2024 to just 0.7 per cent in 2025, signalling significantly stronger learner performance in the subject.
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