KAMPALA, November 2, 2026 — A total of 920,833 candidates are set to begin the 2026 Primary Leaving Examinations [PLE] on Tuesday, with the Uganda National Examinations Board [UNEB] assuring parents, teachers and learners that preparations are complete for a smooth and secure examination exercise.
The number represents a 12.5 percent increase from the 817,885 candidates who registered for the examinations last year, according to UNEB’s fourth joint press briefing on the conduct of the 2026 national examinations issued on Monday.
The candidates will sit their examinations at 16,478 centres across the country.
Mathematics will be examined on Tuesday morning, followed by Social Studies and Religious Education in the afternoon. On Wednesday, candidates will sit Integrated Science in the morning and English in the afternoon.
UNEB Principal Public Relations Officer Jennifer Kalule-Musamba said final preparations were underway, including the distribution of examination materials and deployment of personnel to oversee the exercise.
“Final preparations are under way, with final distributions of the various examination materials and travel of the contracted professionals that will oversee the smooth conduct of the examination,” Kalule-Musamba said.
Of the 920,833 registered candidates, 484,620 [52.7 percent] are female, compared with 436,213 [47.3 percent] males, meaning girls account for a higher proportion of this year’s candidates.
A total of 576,342 candidates [62.5 percent] are sponsored under the Universal Primary Education [UPE] programme, while 344,491 [37.5 percent] are privately sponsored.
UNEB said 4,655 candidates have special needs, comprising 2,352 males and 2,303 females.
Kalule-Musamba said the board had made arrangements to provide the necessary support, including Braille question papers and answer sheets for blind candidates, large-print question papers for learners with low vision, sign-language interpreters for deaf candidates, and transcribers for learners with dyslexia and those with severe physical impairments.
All candidates with special needs will be granted an additional 45 minutes for each examination paper, while 1,544 support personnel have been deployed to provide the required assistance.
The board has also deployed 162 district monitors and 13,738 scouts to monitor the conduct of the examinations and safeguard examination materials, candidates and field personnel.
11 candidates rescued from registration crisis
Meanwhile, UNEB has resolved a registration challenge involving 11 learners from Skylark Primary School in Wakiso District who had initially been left out of the examination registration process.
Kalule-Musamba said the learners had not been registered because their school did not have an examination centre number. The school management had initially believed the candidates had been registered at another centre in Mukono district.
However, after the school contacted UNEB over the weekend, it was directed to identify a nearby examination centre where the learners could be accommodated.
The candidates were subsequently registered at Kyebando UMEA Primary School and will now be able to sit their examinations.
UNEB warns against coaching candidates
Kalule-Musamba also warned schools and teachers against continuing to teach or coach candidates following the official briefing of learners held on Friday, October 30.
“There MUST be no more teaching/coaching whether within the school premises or outside the school. Anyone found or reported to be teaching/coaching candidates will be dealt with according to the rules and regulations that govern the conduct of examinations,” she said.
She reminded candidates to arrive at their examination centres by 8:30am for morning papers and 1:30pm for afternoon papers to allow for identification and verification.
Late candidates may only be admitted within the first 15 minutes after an examination has started, while invigilators have been instructed to thoroughly check candidates before allowing them into examination rooms.
Candidates have also been warned against writing their school names on examination question papers. Instead, they must use the random school numbers provided for each paper, alongside their personal numbers and names.
UNEB further cautioned candidates against examination malpractice, including smuggling unauthorised materials into examination rooms, copying, impersonation, examination leakage, substitution of scripts and receiving external assistance.
The board warned that anyone found involved in examination malpractice would face prosecution under the UNEB Act, Cap 259, which provides for a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of Shs 40 million, or both upon conviction.
Invigilators and scouts who negligently allow malpractice to take place will also face the law under Section 26[1][g] of the Act, which provides for a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a fine of Shs 20 million, or both.
The board urged members of the public with information about suspected examination malpractice to report through its toll-free number, 0800-211-077. It assured informers that they would be protected under its whistle-blower policy and compensated where the information provided proves useful.
The PLE is part of the three national examination series being conducted by UNEB. The Uganda Certificate of Education [UCE] examinations are in their final stages, while the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education [UACE] examinations will officially begin on Friday, November 6, with candidates expected to start writing their papers on Monday, November 9.
In her closing remarks, Kalule-Musamba assured candidates that the examinations were intended to assess their academic achievement and prepare them for the next stage of their education.
“The examination is not meant to fail them but to merely assess their level of achievement to enable them to the next level of their academic journey,” she said.
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