According to the Ministry of Education, at least 20 percent of the 648,662 candidates who passed the 2023 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) have not secured admission to any secondary school. This revelation follows the two-day Senior One selection exercise in Kampala, where only 515,160 candidates out of the total were admitted to over 2,000 schools, leaving 133,502 potential Senior One students without placement.

Dr. Jane Egau, the chairperson of the selection committee, attributed this shortfall to limited spaces in the participating schools. She emphasized that institutions’ capacities, including staffing, classrooms, and dormitories for boarding schools, dictated the number of students they could accommodate. Dr. Egau announced plans for a survey to determine the capacity of all schools to inform future admissions.

She assured that the remaining learners would find admission in private schools that did not participate in the exercise and some technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions. Dr. Egau encouraged parents to seek special consideration or guidance for their children and assured that efforts would be made to absorb all unselected candidates.

Furthermore, the selection process aimed to ensure that every candidate found placement, with schools shopping for more candidates to fill vacancies and unselected applicants placed in schools with available space.