The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has registered 1,627,885 candidates for the 2026 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE), an increase of 211,437 candidates from last year.
The increase represents 14.9% growth from the 1,416,448 candidates registered for the three national examinations in 2025.
UNEB executive director Dan Odongo announced the figures while addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala, as the board stepped up preparations for the examinations.
The candidates will sit the examinations at different levels between October and November.
The UACE examinations are scheduled to begin with briefing on October 7, while UCE candidates will have their briefing on October 8 before the examination papers begin.
The PLE examinations will be conducted in November, with candidates scheduled to begin on November 7.
Of the total registered candidates, 52% are female while 48% are male.
UNEB said 52 per cent of the candidates are supported by the Government under the Universal Primary Education (UPE), Universal Secondary Education (USE) and Universal Post O-Level Education and Training (UPOLET) programmes.
The board also registered 6,090 learners with special educational needs.
The examinations will be conducted under the theme: “Advancing Excellence in Assessment and Certification through Secure, Credible, Inclusive and Innovative Processes.”
Odongo warned parents, teachers and school administrators against participating in examination malpractice, saying UNEB would not tolerate attempts to compromise the integrity of the examinations.
“I equally warn head teachers, especially at primary level, who are reporting non-existing cases of special needs education candidates. Sometimes they do it deliberately or otherwise,” Odongo said.
He said schools should only register learners who genuinely qualify for special needs arrangements and should provide accurate information to UNEB.
Odongo also expressed confidence that learners are adequately prepared for the examinations, despite the changes brought by the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
The 2026 UCE candidates are the third cohort to be registered under the new curriculum, while the UACE candidates are the first group to have progressed through the competency-based approach at lower secondary level.
Odongo acknowledged that the new curriculum required learners and teachers to adjust to a different way of teaching and learning.
He, however, said schools had been given enough time to adapt and that changes had been made in teaching and assessment to support the transition.
“I acknowledge the fact that the curriculum required enough time for learners to adapt to it, but schools have had the opportunity to manage it well in terms of teaching, with some key amendments that have been applied in the teaching style,” he said.
Under the competency-based approach, assessment is intended to look beyond the ability of learners to memorise information and also consider the skills and competencies they acquire.
At UACE level, the assessment has also been aligned to the new curriculum, including the use of scenario-based tasks.
The increase in candidates means UNEB will have to manage a significantly larger examination exercise this year, involving candidates from primary, secondary and advanced levels.
UNEB had initially recorded 1,605,501 candidates by the end of normal registration on June 30, comprising 915,614 PLE candidates, 490,817 UCE candidates and 199,070 UACE candidates. Late registration continued until July 31.
The board recently warned the public about a fake examination timetable circulating on social media and advised schools, parents and candidates to rely on official UNEB communication.
Odongo said the board’s focus would remain on ensuring that every candidate is given a fair opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
