Susan Wamala Sserunkuuma, the chairperson of Mukono Municipality Headteachers’ Association, said the workshop was organized after headteachers and teachers expressed concern about last year’s PLE results.
The 2025 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) results left many headteachers shocked after a noticeable decline in performance across several schools, with Social Studies emerging as one of the worst-performed subjects nationwide.
Education stakeholders have partly attributed the drop in performance to the transition from the traditional examination approach to the revised competency-based curriculum.
According to a report presented by Dan Odongo, the Executive Director of Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), during the release of the results at State House Nakasero, Social Studies registered the lowest national performance in 2025.
UNEB data showed that only 3.3% of candidates obtained Distinction Two in the subject, while nearly 13% failed it altogether.
Odongo explained that the 2025 examinations were designed to assess learners’ ability to apply knowledge and solve problems rather than rely on routine memorization, which aligns with the principles of the competency-based curriculum.
However, Lawrence Lugoloobi, a retired headteacher of St. Kizito Primary School Lutengo in Mukono District, said many teachers are still not fully prepared to teach using the new approach.
“School headteachers and the government need to ensure teachers are properly trained on the revised competency-based curriculum so that they can equip learners with the right skills,” Lugoloobi said.
He added that many pupils struggled to interpret questions, reason logically, and apply knowledge to real-life situations, which directly affected their performance in subjects such as Social Studies.
Mukono municipality responds
In response to the unconvincing performance, the Mukono Municipality Education Department and the municipal headteachers’ association, in collaboration with the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), organized a one-day workshop for Primary Seven teachers from both public and private schools.
The training, held at Uganda Martyrs Namilyango Junior School, attracted over 600 Primary Seven teachers of Science, Social Studies, English and Mathematics.
Susan Wamala Sserunkuuma, the chairperson of Mukono Municipality Headteachers’ Association, said the workshop was organized after headteachers and teachers expressed concern about last year’s PLE results.
According to the 2025 PLE results released by UNEB, Mukono Municipality registered 7,776 candidates. Of these, 2,527 passed in Division One, 3,977 in Division Two, 704 in Division Three, and 307 in Division Four. A total of 204 candidates obtained Division U, while 57 did not sit the examinations despite being registered.
And in Mukono District, 16,535 candidates registered for the exams. Among them, 2,658 passed in Division One, 8,538 in Division Two, 2,719 in Division Three, and 1,303 in Division Four. A total of 1,049 candidates obtained Division U, while 268 did not sit the exams, compared to 330 in 2024.
Esther Nassanga, the Mukono Municipality Education Officer, said the results were unexpected.
“We expected better results, at least ranking among the top five nationally as it has always been but we were ranked in 10th position. We therefore decided to return to the drawing board early enough by retooling our teachers. We are grateful that NCDC responded to our request and sent specialists to guide our teachers,” Nassanga said.
Experts fault teaching methods
During the workshop, Santos Cale, a science curriculum specialist from NCDC, criticized teachers for relying too much on theoretical teaching.
“I wonder how a teacher can teach about the heart, lungs and intestines in science and end by only drawing diagrams on the blackboard instead of bringing real examples such as animal organs from the market to illustrate the lesson better,” he said.
Cale also faulted schools for over-testing learners using examination papers purchased from individuals in outlets in town who are not even primary school teachers.
According to him, such examinations often contain poorly structured questions that mislead learners and sometimes cover topics that have not yet been taught.
“This demotivates learners because they are tested on content they have not studied,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gertrude Namubiru, a mathematics curriculum specialist at NCDC, said many teachers have been implementing the curriculum incorrectly by introducing concepts midway instead of building them gradually.
She emphasized the need to teach mathematics using examples from learners’ everyday surroundings so they can connect classroom knowledge to real-life experiences.
“This kind of teaching is not just about passing exams but about preparing learners for day-to-day life,” Namubiru said.
She also cautioned teachers against testing learners on topics that have not yet been taught, saying such practices undermine children’s motivation to learn.
Shift in teaching approach
Sserunkuuma said a review of the 2025 PLE results revealed that many teachers lack sufficient understanding of the competency-based curriculum or struggle to interpret it correctly.
“Teachers must remember that learners should be given time to conduct their own research, while teachers guide them. Many are still stuck in the old system where they simply dictate notes to pupils,” she said.
Norah Annet Wambuzi, a Social Studies and Christian Religious Education teacher at Mukono Boarding Primary School, also noted that some teachers still rely on lecture-style teaching instead of adopting the learner-centered approach emphasized in the new curriculum.
“It is high time we stopped teaching primary school pupils the same way lecturers teach university students,” she said.
Similarly, Juliet Nakku, an English teacher at Joy Primary School, said many people misunderstand the competency-based curriculum.
“The curriculum itself has not changed much; what has changed is how it is implemented. Teaching should focus more on practical learning and real-life experiences so that learners truly understand what they are taught,” she explained.
Over 200 Pupils to Resit P7 as UNEB Cancels PLE Results Over Malpractice