By Kei Emmanuel Duku and Jacob Onuha Nelson
More than 11,000 candidates who took the 2024 Certificate of Secondary Education (CES) exams failed, according to results announced by the Ministry of General Education and Instruction.
Minister Kuyok Abol Kuyok, also the Chairperson of the National Examination Council, announced on Wednesday that 11,378 (23.7%) of the 48,079 candidates did not pass. Of those who failed, 6,573 were male and 4,805 were female.
Speaking at the Juba Grand Hotel, Kuyok noted that Chemistry, Principles of Accounts, and Arabic Language were the worst-performing subjects.
He blamed the poor results on a lack of adequate and trained teachers and promised to recruit and train more educators in these areas.
Despite the challenges, Kuyok pointed to “relative improvement” in subjects such as Computer Science, Physics, Agriculture, Islamic Religion, English Literature, and Citizens, though he provided no specific data for comparison.
Of the 50,040 students who registered for the exams, 48,079 successfully sat for them at 535 centers across the country.
No reason was given for why the remaining 1,925 registered students didn’t take the exams. Of the students who sat for the exams, 28,192 were male and 19,887 were female.
The Minister stated that 36,701 (76.3%) candidates passed the 2024 CES exams, with 21,619 being male and 15,085 being female.
Philip Manyok Ayuen Abeny of Greenbet Academy in Jonglei state was the top-performing student, scoring 91.6%.
He was followed by Murye Anthony Duku Toe from Haven High School at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, who scored 91.4%. Bhor Gatbel Malual Luak from St. Lawrence Academy SS in Central Equatoria State ranked third with a score of 90.0%.
In school rankings, Amazing Grace High School in Jonglei State was ranked first. Darling Wisdom Academy-Pentagon in Juba, Central Equatoria State, and Daystars Academy SS in Jonglei state came in second and third, respectively.
For the commercial section at Juba Commercial Secondary School, 130 students registered (63 males and 67 females). Additionally, 197 candidates registered for the technical section at Juba Technical Centre. The 2024 CES exams were conducted from November 2 to December 11 of last year.
Sandra Bona Malual, Chairperson of the Specialized Committee of Education in the Transitional Legislative Assembly, encouraged students not to be disheartened by the results.
“For those who didn’t make it in these exams, keep believing in yourselves and aim higher next time because the best is yet to come your way, don’t be disappointed. Exams are always like that,” she said.
Simon Nyok Deng, Secretary General of the National Examinations Council, attributed the delay in releasing the results to a lack of funds, which affected the marking process and other logistical tasks.
Deng noted that despite the financial challenges and low budget allocations, the council has consistently held the exams on schedule for the past four years. “Our current challenge is to make sure that the exam gets out of it in time,” he added.