Factors Affecting Academic Performance in Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) in 2018 of Pupils in Rural Areas: A Case Study of Karooza Community in Mitooma District

Abstract

The study aimed at assessing the factors affecting the academic performance of pupils in Karooza community found in Mitooma District. Specifically, it found out the effect of number of pupils per stream, examined the effect of age of pupils, assessed the effect of number of desks per stream, determined the effect of qualification of teachers and lastly found out the effect of School Library on exam performance of pupils in Karooza community in Mitooma District. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design and 50 respondents were selected using simple random sampling. The study findings revealed that out of the 50 interviewed staff, over 60% (n = 30) were male while 40% were female, these were dominated by secondary education level and below represented by 58% (n = 29) while 42% (n = 21) were degree and diploma holders. With regards to the school library, 30% agreed to having a library in their school though not fully acquainted with the materials and books while 70% denied having a library facility. The study further revealed exam performance to positively related to the number of desks per stream, streams served and number of desks per stream for they were statistically significant at p <.05. also, pupils with access to the library were found to perform worse than those without access, no statistically significant relationship was found between teacher’s qualification and exam performance, coef. = -.135145; p > .05. In other words, teacher’s qualification was found to be independently related to exam performance of pupils. School facilities such as classes/streams and desks and teachers are key as far as academic performance of the pupil is concerned and thus found to positively affect performance. School facilities and resources need to be provided to enable each and every child to enter and remain in school until the primary cycle of education is complete.