Students’ Academic Performance and Teachers’ Retention in Private Secondary Schools in Lira City, Uganda
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Date
2026-10
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Gulu University
Abstract
This study was conducted on Students’ Academic Performance and Teachers’ Retention in Private Secondary Schools in Lira City. Guided the following objectives; to examine the level of students’ academic performance, to assess the level of teachers’ retention in private secondary schools and to determine the relationship between the level of students’ academic performance and the level of teachers’ retention in private secondary schools. Correlational research design was used in the study; questionnaire was used to collect data from 325 participants. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse background information, objectives one
and two. Pearson correlation was used to analyse objective three. The study established high level of students' academic performance in private secondary schools in Lira City across all the three categories of respondents (teachers, head teachers, and Chairpersons of the Board of Governors), moderately high level of teachers' retention in private secondary schools in Lira City from the perspectives of teachers, head teachers and Chairpersons of the Board of Governors and established a moderate positive and statistically significant relationship between students' academic performance and teachers' retention (r = 0.462, p < 0.01) from the perspectives of teachers, head teachers and Chairpersons of the Board of Governors. The study concluded that students' academic performance in private secondary schools in Lira City is high as evidenced in positive project-based learning outcomes, satisfactory internal and UNEB examination performance, high promotion and completion rates and improving school pass rates. The study concluded that teacher retention in private secondary schools in Lira City is
moderately high tohigh. Thestudy concluded that students' academic performance is positively associated with teachers' retention from the teachers' perspective, indicating that successful learner outcomes contribute to teachers' willingness to remain in private secondary schools in Lira City. Private secondary schools should strengthen formative assessment and examination feedback systems by providing timely, constructive and learner-centred feedback, while continuously reviewing the quality of end-of-term assessments to ensure they accurately measure learners' knowledge, competencies and higher-order thinking skills. The study recommended that private secondary schools should institutionalise comprehensive teacher retention policies that strengthen professional development, mentoring, staff recognition, transparent employment practices and supportive leadership. Private secondary schools should adopt an integrated teacher retention strategy that combines efforts to improve students' academic performance with strong organisational support for continuous professional development, transparent employment policies, competitive staff welfare, mentoring programmes and teacher recognition systems.