The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has said it will not be possible to organise special exams for candidates that failed the 2023 UCE exams in June/July as had been earlier planned.
Instead, the examinations body in a circular dated February 27, said the candidates will have to sit the examinations in October/November alongside the 2024 UCE candidates which will be examined basing on the new lower secondary school curriculum.
Dan Odongo, the executive director of UNEB said the minister of Education Janet Museveni had pushed for the extension after it was brought to her attention that UNEB did not have resources to organize the exams in June/July.
“Based on this development, the UCE transition examination under the old curriculum will not be conducted in June/July as had been originally envisaged… The affected persons will now be advised to register themselves in the USE schools where they studied from previously or those convenient to them. The functional/existing examination halls will also register candidates as well as the private schools that will have repeaters wishing to sit for the examinations,” Odongo said in the circular.
Out of 361,695 candidates who sat for UCE exams in 2023, a total of 14,879 failed, representing 4.1 %.