By Godfrey Olukya 23-1-2013
Islamic Primary Leaving Examinations (IPLE) are being failed in northern Uganda due to two decades of insurgency which affected northern Uganda with education being hit hard.
Apart from Islamic examinations, the students are not doing well in National examinations as well.
The 2012 Islamic primary leaving examinations results have been released at Tagy Hotel in Kampala by the Uganda Qur’an Schools Association (UQSA). The subjects sat include Arabic language and grammar (Lughatul Arabiyya), memorizing and learning the meaning of the holy Qur’an, Islamic jurisprudence (Fikihi) and Islamic history and the traditions of the prophet (Tarubiya).
The secretary general of UQSA, Dr Haruna Jemba said, ‘Islamic schools in the north lack facilities like reading materials and the teachers do not have access to training, unlike those in the central region.’
In central region, the students passed highly. The students attributed their passing highly to being with qualified teachers and other educational facilities.
Jemba however said that they are trying to help schools in northern Uganda to catch up. He said, ‘as an association, we are determined to train the religious tutors there and also provide them with enough books.’
Out of the 2,450 pupils who sat for the examinations, 546 passed in first grade, 690 in second grade, 448 in third grade and 455 in fourth grade. Twenty-five pupils who registered did not turn up while 286 were ungraded.
Jemba said that IPLE is not about coaching students to get good grades but instilling in them religious values.
The secretary of Islamic national examination board Sheikh Ishaq Kazibwe said he was disappointed that Arabic language is still a big problem, as pupils can neither read nor write it.
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