Learners shun arts subject combinations at top schools

For decades, there have been more students enrolling for arts subject combinations at top schools than their science counterparts.

However, following the Government’s emphasis on sciences, as well as the enhancement of salaries for scientists, the number of students taking on arts combinations is drastically dropping.

Subsequently, students who were admitted to top secondary schools for Senior Five are turning down arts subject combinations for sciences, authorities have revealed.

In secondary schools such as Ntare School in Mbarara city and St Henry’s College Kitovu in Masaka city, all students who were admitted at the 2025 selection exercise preferred science combinations.

At Bweranyangi Girls’ Senior Secondary School in Bushenyi, administrators said they have not registered more than 30 arts students in the last five years.

Schools speak out

The secondary school administrators New Vision talked to indicated that the number of students taking on arts subjects is shrinking while that of sciences is rising in top schools

Bro. Martin Wanambwa, the headteacher of St Henry’s College Kitovu, said none of the students admitted so far wants to pursue arts combinations.

“The students we have received after the national selections scored only ‘A’ and ‘B’ in all the subjects, and do not want arts; they want sciences,” he said.

Paul Musoke, the deputy headteacher in charge of academics at Mengo Senior School in Kampala, which admitted 500 for Senior Five, said none of those admitted wants an arts combination.

“We have divided our streams according to the subjects. For instance, those offering biological sciences are taking on subject combinations that have biology, and physical sciences for those who have physics in their combinations, plus other science combinations,” he said.

Twaha Ssemwogerere, the careers master at Kawempe Muslim Secondary School, said about 80% of the students admitted prefer science combinations, adding, “I think arts combinations are threatened.”

The trends

Saul Rwampororo, the Ntare School headteacher, explained that the trend of children turning down arts subject combinations has been growing ever since the Government started putting more emphasis on sciences.

For the last five years, he said, only 20% of the students admitted to the school for Senior Five were arts students.

“We have tried to give those arts combinations to strike a balance, but the students say no; they want sciences. We have had to change combinations to sciences,” he said.

Rwampororo said Ntare had two streams for science subjects at Senior Five, and just one stream for arts.

However, following this year’s Senior Five selection exercise, he said they will expand the science subject combination streams to three or four, and leave only one for arts students.

Simon Peter Akena, the deputy headteacher of Bweranyangi Girls, said when you insist on giving students arts combinations, they change the school.

“The issue of students turning down arts subjects is a big problem. The trend has been growing over the years, and it is at its peak now,” he said.

Currently, Bweranyangi has a total of 180 students in Senior Six, but only 31 of them are doing arts combinations, Akena said.

The challenge ahead

As more students opt for sciences over arts, Rwampororo said the demand for arts teachers is shrinking.

Subsequently, he said, the top schools now need more science teachers, who are not available. He said top schools, including Ntare, have to hire science teachers on a part-time basis to fill the gap.

“Now we have a problem where many arts teachers do not have students to teach. At the same time, we have a few science teachers and the classrooms are bulging. We need a solution,” Rwampororo said.

New curriculum

It should be noted that all teachers are given several lessons to teach per week under the new curriculum.

But if the trend, where more science teachers are attending to large classrooms than their arts counterparts continues, it will affect the performance of science subjects at A’level.

According to the standard teaching load set by the education ministry, a headteacher (whether for sciences or arts), has a six-lesson load per week, 12 lessons for the deputy headteachers.

The other teachers that headteachers supervise are given teaching loads depending on the subjects taught at O’ and A’level.

The education ministry standards require that both arts and science teachers from Senior One to Senior Three teach 16 weekly. These include 12 classwork lessons and four projects and should be evenly distributed throughout the week.

However, an O’level teacher for physical education has a minimum load of 23 classroom lessons a week. A science teacher at O’level has a minimum teaching load of 22 lessons a week.

At A’level, an arts teacher has a minimum teaching load of 18 lessons a week, while their science counterparts have a minimum of 16 lessons.

Alternatives

Data from the Education Management Information System, a data management system for the education sector, shows that there are about 1,439 certificate and diploma awarding institutions registered in the country.

Of these, 220 are government institutions, while 1,219 others are privately owned.

Although the diploma-awarding technical vocational education and training (TVET) institutions target Senior Six leavers, many also take in Senior Four leavers for certificate programmes in health, engineering and business, among others.

Each of the above certificate or diploma-awarding institutions can accommodate about 100 new students. This implies that they accommodate at least 143,900 new students for vocational trades every year.

However, the Government offers at least 2,554 slots for Senior Four leavers joining TVET for free annually.

The interested Senior Four leavers enrol for different TVET courses at the 85 government institutions spread across the country.

New Vision has learnt that the education ministry will this week announce a call for applications for these slots.

95,000 miss admissions

Data obtained from the education ministry shows that 73.5% of the 2024 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) candidates (who sat under the old and new curriculum) were successfully placed in schools at the national selection exercise that ended on February 22, 2025.

However, at least 26.5 % of others were not placed. According to the data, about 358,271 candidates qualified for the next level of education.

Of these, 186,991 were placed at the respective schools they gave their first choice, while 76,279 others were admitted to the second-choice schools. This left at least 95,001 candidates unplaced.

Dr Jane Egau, the education ministry undersecretary and chairperson of the selection committee, explained that all is not lost for those not selected.

The candidates under this category, Egau said, will privately be admitted into schools, while others can join the technical vocational education and training institutions.

“There is still more space in schools. Some schools never participated in the selection. Therefore, they can be admitted there,” she said.

Muyingo advises schools

Higher education state minister Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo asked schools not to kick candidates who sat under the old curriculum to the sidelines in the ongoing selection.

Muyingo revealed that the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Mrs Janet Museveni, directed the placement committee to ensure that learners who sat for Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams under the old curriculum and qualified to join Senior Five should be considered.

“Over 10,000 learners sat under this category and over 80% of them qualified to be placed for post-UCE education. They should be considered as well,” he said.

Muyingo said the Government is committed to building more schools in underserved communities and those without government-aided schools.