The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Moroto has registered a 300 percent increase in the number of Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) candidates at the only school in the district offering exams at this level, Moroto High School.
The other three secondary schools – Nadiket Seminary, Apostle of Jesus, and Nadunget Seed Secondary School have just introduced advanced-level education and plan to enroll the first senior six candidates next year. Moroto High School has seen a significant rise in the number of candidates, increasing from 25 in 2021 to 30 in 2022 and now reaching 119 this year.
Twenty-two of the candidates are girls, while the remaining 97 are boys, a distribution that has raised concern among officials. Twaha Chebet, the head teacher of Moroto High School, says that the school has registered 22 students for science subjects and 97 for arts. He told URN that all students are well-prepared for the ongoing UACE examinations.
Markson Ojao, the Acting Moroto District Education Officer, stated that currently, Moroto High School is the only one conducting the UACE exams, but they aim to register the other three secondary schools next year.
Ojao expressed concern about the low enrollment of girls at Advanced level due to negative attitudes from parents towards girls’ education. He observed that girls lack hope for higher education because of a lack of motivation in their environment.
Jacinta Lokeris, a senior six candidate from Moroto High School, shared the challenges she faced as a girl from Karamoja in completing her higher education. She highlighted cultural practices, poverty, and negative attitudes towards girls’ education as barriers.
Lokeris emphasized that communities often stigmatize highly educated girls, associating them with negative labels and discouraging them from pursuing higher education. She also noted instances of bullying from male students who perceive higher education as exclusively for boys.
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