The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has released the official timetables for the 2025 national examinations, encompassing the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE).
The examination period will commence with the UCE on October 13, 2025, followed by the PLE on November 3 2025, and the UACE on November 10, 2025. Mandatory briefings for candidates are scheduled prior to each examination: UCE candidates will be briefed on 10 October, PLE candidates on 31 October, and UACE candidates on November 7.
During the announcement on Monday, UNEB executive director Dan Odongo revealed that 1,416,468 candidates are registered for the 2025 examinations, a 7.5% rise from the 1,308,998 recorded in 2024. This growth reflects increased participation across all levels.
Gender distribution shows a slight female majority, with 51.5% female candidates and 48.5% male candidates, continuing the trend of growing female involvement in national examinations.
Breakdown by Examination Level
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PLE: Candidature increased by 2.5%, from 797,444 in 2024 to 818,010 in 2025.
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UCE: A substantial 12.1% rise, with numbers growing from 379,699 to 432,025 candidates.
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UACE: The largest percentage increase at 14.7%, with candidates rising from 141,996 to 166,433.
A total of 4,802 candidates are registered under Special Needs Education, marking a 4.5% increase from 4,587 in 2024. Of these, 3,619 are at the PLE level, 670 at UCE, and 513 at UACE.
Of the total candidates, 719,016 (51%) are funded by the government through Universal Education Programmes, while 697,452 (49%) are privately sponsored.
Odongo emphasised the importance of strict compliance with the examination schedules and urged schools and candidates to prepare diligently to ensure a smooth examination process.
