Headteacher St. Julian High School Gayaza, gives reasons why learners fail UNEB

27 March 2025, 12:06 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The Headteacher of St. Julian High School Gayaza in Wakiso district, Mr. Nicholas Opata, while speaking to journalists, explained why students fail national examinations. “What has enabled St. Julian Schools, and in particular this campus, to perform well year in and year out, is that we have found solutions to the challenges I’ll explain. Learners fail due to learning difficulties such as problems with seeing, hearing, etc. Here, we tell our class teachers that if they realise a student has such difficulties, they should position that learner in a place where he or she can see or hear well in order for them to understand what the teacher teaches,” he said.

“Another problem or challenge why students fail is that some learners can’t understand when the teacher is teaching because of various personal reasons. However, they can understand the content when a fellow student explains it to them. So we solve that by grouping them into various discussion groups, as some can’t fit in groups with teaching assistants. Another challenge is poor study habits. A student may perform very well in, say, O’level, but when they reach A-Level, their performance declines. This is simply because these are two different levels. So we screen students depending on their abilities. Some teachers are not close enough to their students, which affects them. A teacher is supposed to have that closeness with a student to understand why he or she performs a certain way. Only then can the teacher find a fitting solution to that challenge. Engagement between the learner and teacher is key to the learner’s success,” he explained.

The Headteacher also raised the issue of inadequate preparation for assessments and syllabus completion. “Completing the syllabus late, especially, contributes to student failure because UNEB questions come from the entire syllabus. Here, we finish the O’level syllabus by Senior Three. In Senior Four, our students just revise. The same applies to A-Level. There’s also the problem of personal factors that can arise from home or school, such as being questioned by fellow students about what you lack or having misunderstandings at home. These issues also affect the student. That’s why we have a counselor who talks to them and brings in other counselors to provide support,” he said.

Regarding the Kabaka Birthday Run, Mr. Opata said that they would participate fully as they have in previous years, led by their director, Mr. Jeff Serungongi, and other members of the board. “We have already bought our running kits. We congratulate the Kabaka and appeal to learners to concentrate on their studies and abstain from sexual activities because HIV/AIDS is rampant and has no cure. As for the 2024 UACE results, 8 students scored 20 points, 18 students scored 19 points, 52 students scored 18 points, and 123 students scored 17 points, among others. We thank God that all our students achieved the required principal passes to join universities and other higher institutions of learning. We, therefore, appeal to our dear parents and the general public to send us more students because we have the capacity to teach them well. We have the best teachers who are well-versed in the new curriculum, and we have everything as recommended by NCDC regarding the new curriculum,” he concluded.