This study was carried out in Kitenga sub-county, Mubende district. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of automatic promotion on the teaching-learning process in schools. The objectives of the study were to; document the reasons for automatic promotion in primary schools, document what pupils and teachers say about automatic promotion and document the impact of automatic promotion on the teaching-learning process. Qualitative research approach while utilizing descriptive survey research design was used because it involves looking in depth at non-numerical data. Headteachers, teacher and pupils were chosen because it was hoped that they possessed relevant information about automatic promotion. All the respondents were chosen using purposive sampling technique. The data was collected using well-structured interview guide from all the respondents. The major findings of the study indicated that the reasons for automatic promotion in primary schools are automatic promotion saves resources, automatic promotion reduces stigmatization harming of self-esteem by preventing impairing of established peer relationships and alienating that individual from school among others. Promoting the learners to the next grade without having attained the required level of competencies negatively affects their graduation at the exit grade, contended that since learners know they would be promoted anyway, regardless of whether they have satisfied the promotional requirements or not, this would promote a culture of laziness and so on. While the impact of automatic promotion on the teaching-learning process of automatically promoted learners do not acquire adequate understanding of the prescribed academic content, noted that learners who are promoted automatically or socially, may develop what is termed “learned helplessness. Therefore, the study recommended that hierarchy on how to improve quality should be supervised and monitored, teachers must be motivated and the concept of the Competency Based Approach needs to be mastered by many teachers, slow learners should not be promoted automatically. Pupils should also be given time to assimilate what they were taught and automatic promotion should only be effected if a pupil has passed in two terms or it could be stopped completely. Conclusively there is need for more human and material resources and a standard model for the implementation of collective promotion which is monitored to ensure quality.

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