Girls struggle in science subjects but still outperform boys

FILE PHOTO: A student does her exams.
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Female candidates have outperformed their male counterparts in the 2025 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations, posting stronger grades in several subjects and recording lower overall failure rates.
Prof. Celestino Obua, the Chairperson of the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), praised the performance of female candidates, noting that the trend reflects years of deliberate investment in the education of the girl child through scholarships, retention programmes, and community campaigns aimed at keeping girls in school.
Prof. Obua made the remarks during the official release of the results at State House, Nakasero, on Friday, describing the performance as a sign of steady progress in efforts to narrow long-standing gender gaps in education.
Presenting the statement of results, UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo said female candidates performed better than males at the principal pass level, grades A to E, in most humanities subjects. However, he noted that male candidates dominated at the highest grade of ‘A’ in mathematics and the sciences.
The results were drawn from a cohort where male candidates formed the majority. A total of 92,798 male candidates sat the examinations compared to 72,374 female candidates.
Despite the strong overall performance by girls, subject selection patterns remain uneven. Female candidates continue to concentrate more on humanities and arts subjects such as history, literature in English, religious studies, geography, and languages, where they consistently post strong results.
In contrast, registration and top performance in science subjects remain comparatively lower among girls. This gap continues to limit female participation in university programmes linked to engineering, technology, pure sciences, and specialised medical fields.
Prof. Obua (right) hands the results to Minister of Education and Sports Janet Museveni
However, Odongo noted that the number of girls enrolling in science subjects is gradually increasing each year, even though it still trails that of boys.
Speaking at the same event, the Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, congratulated the female candidates on their achievement and welcomed the continued improvement in their academic performance. She said the results reflect sustained efforts by government, schools, families, and development partners to keep more girls in school and support their academic progress.
The First Lady added that the steady improvement demonstrates that investments in girl-child education are yielding results and urged schools and communities to strengthen mentorship and academic support to encourage more girls to pursue science subjects and higher education opportunities.
“I am particularly impressed by the steady increase in the number of girls taking on science subjects and that they have done very well. This demonstrates that there is nothing mysterious about mathematics and sciences. What we now need is more encouragement and the presence of role models,” she said.
Results released by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) show that 98.9 per cent of candidates obtained the UACE certificate. Under current regulations, a candidate needs at least a subsidiary pass in a Principal subject to qualify for the certificate.
Presenting the results, UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo said 113,291 candidates, representing 68.6 per cent, attained the minimum requirement of two principal passes for admission to degree programmes. This marks an increase from 92,273 candidates (65.5 per cent) recorded in 2024.
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www.independent.co.ug, https://www.independent.co.ug/uace-results-girls-struggle-in-science-subjects-but-still-outperform-boys/