The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has stood firm on its decision not to assign numerical values to the new Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) grading system, despite growing pressure from stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education and Sports.
During the release of the 2024 UACE results, UNEB Board chairperson Professor Celestino Obua said the board would not introduce numerical values for Grades A to E, arguing that doing so would contradict the objectives of the new curriculum.
"We also note that the Ministry of Education and Sports has been put under pressure to put numerical values to the Grades A-E.
The Board recognizes the magnitude of this concern under the new curriculum.
However, we will not put numerical values to these grades as has been agitated for because that is not the intention of the new curriculum," he stated.
He clarified that universities and other institutions using UACE results for admissions could continue applying their own point systems, as they always have.
"It should be noted that those values of 6 for A, 5 for B, etc., were never created by UNEB in the first place. The numerical values were a creation by post-secondary institutions to assign a point system for their admission criteria," he explained.
The new grading system has caused confusion among students, parents, and teachers, particularly after similar concerns arose following the release of UCE results.