Henry’s National Exam Results

Today was a very significant day in the life of Henry, the Uganda boy I met during my first trip to Uganda.  Today, the national test results were released – Uganda’s version of the SAT.  Before getting to the results, here is a quick primer on the Ugandan school system:

Children start school in Uganda at around the age of six in what is called Nursery School, which is akin to our Kindergarten.  From there, they go to Primary School for seven years, commonly referred to as P1-P7.  A few years ago, Uganda passed legislation that purports to guarantee free public education for Primary School, though the legislation limited this to four children per family and most families have more than four kids.  Unfortunately, this doesn’t work as well as it was intended to work.  In the villages (half or more the country), a good percentage of the children don’t finish Primary School because (i) the family cannot afford the school supplies (not included in the “free” part), (ii) the family cannot afford for the kids not to be tending crops or animals, or (iii) the family doesn’t value education enough to send the kids to school.  In addition to these “free” government Primary Schools, there are quite a few private schools that a good portion of the population cannot afford.  The student/teacher ratio in Ugandan Government Primary Schools is 49/1, but this is much lower at the private schools.

At the end of P7, the children all take a national exam to determine which of them will graduate to Secondary School.  There are some scholarships available for government Secondary Schools, but most Ugandans have to pay to continue after Primary School.  Consequently, only 27% of Ugandan children make it through Primary School to Secondary School.  (By analogy, this would mean that only 27% of American kids make it to 8^th grade).

Secondary School is broken into two parts.  The first four years are called “O” level (S1-S4), and the last two are called “A” level (S5-S6).  These designations mirror the British model.  At the end of “O” level (S4), the students all take a national exam to determine whether they will advance to “A” level.  That is the exam Henry was just finishing taking when I came to his graduation from S4 last November.  (I posted about his graduation here).

The results were released today (about ten days late) and Henry did fantastic.  The students take ten subject exams and get a score between 1 and 10 on each subject, with 1 being the best and 10 being the worst.  Of the ten scores, the highest 8 are totaled for what is called the “Aggregate Score.”  The best possible Aggregate Score is 8, which represents a 1 in each of the best 8 subjects.  The Aggregate Scores are then divided into four divisions, with the First Division being the best.  An Aggregate Score of 32 or lower qualifies as First Division, and this year, the cut off for the First Division was the top 8.5% of all takers.

Henry’s Aggregate Score was 18, which likely puts him in the top 2-4% of all takers.  I could not be more proud of him.  And this after spending two years in prison, not able to learn or even speak English during this time.  Here are his individual subject scores:

Agriculture – 1

Chemistry – 1

Divinity – 2

Physics – 2

English – 3

Geography – 3

History – 3

Mathematics – 3

Commerce – 3

Biology – 5

Within each subject, a score of 1 or 2 is categorized as “With Distinction.”  And the percentage of students who meet this “With Distinction” category varies by subject.  So, for example, only 0.6% of students made a 1 or 2 in Chemistry.  Accordingly, Henry’s score of 1 in Chemistry likely placed him in the top 0.3% of all Ugandans.  Similarly, only 1.5% of Ugandans scored a 1 or 2 in Physics, so Henry’s 2 in that subject put him in the top 1.5% of the country.

Henry’s career goal is to become a doctor.  After independent research and talking to as many people as possible, I have concluded that the best “A” level program in the country for those wanting to become doctors is at Uganda Martyrs Namugongo Secondary School.  (One of the two Ugandans currently enrolled at Pepperdine (George Kakuru) went to this Secondary School).

Being intimately familiar with the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8), I have decided to make Uganda Martyrs my second home until the final enrollment decisions have been made.  Accordingly, I camped out in front of the Head Teacher’s office yesterday until I was allowed to go in.  He was very friendly and professional, but told me that I needed to come back when the national results were released.  So, when they came out, I went back.  Unfortunately, he was out of the office, but I met with a couple others, including a current teacher.

The program into which Henry wants to be admitted (biological sciences) is the most competitive program at the most competitive school.  Yikes!  While the Aggregate score is very important (their presumptive cutoff for this program is 11 or 12), the scores on Chemistry, Physics, and Biology are the most important.  As noted above, Henry’s Chemistry and Physics scores are spectacular, but his Biology score falls about with the top 10-12% of Ugandans.  I fear that this will be an uphill battle, but will not give up easily.

In order to officially apply at this school, I need to have Henry’s birth certificate, baptismal certificate, and official test results (I got a summary of them via text message today).  His birth and baptismal certificates are in Hoima (five hours away) and his official results are in Gulu (six hours away).  The deadline to submit the application is Tuesday of next week, and the decisions will be made the following day or two.

Since there is no FedEx in Uganda, getting documents from Point A to Point B is rather, well, complicated.  Providentially, the Gashes and the Gregstons (our Twin Family) were already planning to go to Hoima this weekend for a “shopping spree” – more about that here.  Doubly providentially, John Niemeyer (Country Director for Restore International, the organization that runs the school from which Henry graduated) was planning to drive to Kampala from Gulu today, but fell ill.  Consequently, he is coming later in the week and will have the official results with him.  Accordingly, I should have everything I need in order to submit Henry’s application in person on Monday.  Henry and I would both appreciate your prayers.  Please pray that I will not have “occupy” the Head Teacher’s office until he finally admits Henry just to get rid of me.

Tomorrow I will post with the court of appeals’ decision in the Ribbens’ adoption case.