The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has released the timetable for the 2026 national examinations, setting the stage for over 1,627,885 million candidates to sit for their final paper for this academic year.
The examinations that commence in early October, will be for the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE).
Addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on Wednesday morning, the UNEB Executive Director Mr. Dan Odongo, said the UCE, which is usually the first set to be done, will officially begin with the briefing of candidates by head teachers on Thursday 8th October 2026.
Mr Odongo says the UCE Candidates will sit for their first paper on Monday October 12, starting with Geography in the morning and Biology theory in the afternoon.
“The records indicate that we have registered a total of 1,627,885 candidates for the three examinations. This is an increase of 211,437, which is 14.9 percent compared to 2025. Of these candidates that we have registered, 52 percent are female, while 48% of males and we note that the females have gradually outstripped the males in terms of the numbers that are staying in school and taking the examination”, Mr Odongo said.
Meanwhile, UNEB has recorded a more than 200,000 increase in the number of registered candidates for all three sets of this year’s end-of cycle examinations.
According to the Board, a total of 1,627,885 candidates, an increase of 211,437 (14.9%) registered compared to last year’s candidature of 1,416,448.
Of these, 52% are female while 48% are male, with a 52% of the total candidates sponsored by the government under the Universal Education program for primary and secondary levels, while 6,090 are Special Needs Education (SNE) Learners.
Mr Odongo noted that the percentage increased for Uganda Certificate Examination (UCE) to 16.4% with candidature rising from 432,163 in 2025 to 503,214 in 2026.
“We have given a table showing the increases, the numbers registered at the different examination levels, PLE, UCE and USCE and the total. But what is worth noting is that there has been a big, big increase, drastic increase in candidature. PLE has gone up by 12.4% to 920,796,” Mr Odongo said.
This year’s examinations will be held under the theme; “Advancing Excellence in Assessment and certification through secure, credible, inclusive and innovative processes’’
