By George Bukenya
The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has deployed a total of 13,738 scouts and 162 District Monitors to man Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) country wide.
The PLE examinations officially commenced on Friday 30, October, 2026 with briefing of candidates and on Tuesday 3 November they will be writing their English examination and in the afternoon they will do Social studies paper while on Wednesday 4, November they will do mathematics in the morning and end with Science examination.
Speaking to reporters at Police Headquarters in Nagruru on Monday, UNEB’s Principal Public Relations Officer Jennifer Kalule-Musamba cautioned on schools, candidates and general public on examination malpractices saying the long arm of law will catch them.
UNEB Saves 11 Pupils from Missing PLE, Warns Schools Against Examination Malpractice
Meanwhile UNEB has intervened to secure examination places for 11 pupils from Skyland Primary School in Wakiso District who had been left out of the registration process, assuring parents that they will sit this year’s Primary Leaving Examination (PLE).
The pupils were registered at Kyebando UMEA Primary School just a few days to examination writing following an intervention by UNEB after it emerged that their school did not have an examination centre number and had mistakenly believed they had been registered at another school in Mukono District.
The examinations’ body mouth piece Kalule Musamba said the Board had directed the school to identify an examination centre in Wakiso that could accommodate the affected learners. Thus pupils were subsequently registered at Kyebando UMEA Primary School. She reassured parents and learners that the 11 candidates would be allowed to sit their examinations.
The development comes as Uganda enters the fourth week of the 2026 national examinations, with a total of 920,833 candidates registered across 16,478 examination centres countrywide, representing a 12.5 per cent increase from the 817,885 candidates recorded last year.
According to UNEB, female candidates account for 484,620 (52.7 per cent) of the total candidature, while males number 436,213 (47.3 per cent). Government-sponsored candidates under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme stand at 576,342 (62.5 per cent), while 344,491 (37.5 per cent) are privately sponsored.
Uganda Certificate of Examination candidates are expected to complete their examinations with optional local language papers, Information Communication Technology practical, and Design today, followed by ICT Theory and foreign language papers on Tuesday, November 3.
While PLE candidates will begin their examinations on Tuesday with Mathematics in the morning, followed by Social Studies and Religious Education in the afternoon. The examinations will conclude on Wednesday, November 4, with Integrated Science in the morning and English in the afternoon.
The UACE candidates will be briefed at their respective schools and examination centres on Friday, November 6, before beginning their written examinations on Monday, November 9. The examinations will run until Thursday, November 26, 2026.
The Kalule also revealed that 53 candidates, comprising 47 males and six females, are sitting their examinations at Uganda Government Upper Prison School in Luzira under Centre Number 130377.
A total of 4,655 candidates with Special Needs Education (SNE) were registered and these include 2,352 males and 2,303 females.
All candidates with special needs will be granted an additional 45 minutes for each examination paper. UNEB has deployed 1,544 support personnel to provide the necessary assistance.
The Board has warned schools against teaching or coaching PLE candidates following the briefing conducted on Friday, October 30, saying the examination process is already underway. Musamba cautioned that schools and individuals found coaching candidates after the briefing would face action in accordance with examination regulations. he Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has deployed a total of 13,738 scouts and 162 District Monitors to man Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) country wide.
The PLE examinations officially commenced on Friday 30, October, 2026 with briefing of candidates and on Tuesday 3 November they will be writing their English examination and in the afternoon they will do Social studies paper while on Wednesday 4, November they will do mathematics in the morning and end with Science examination.
“The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has intervened to secure examination places for 11 pupils from Skyland Primary School in Wakiso District who had been left out of the registration process, assuring parents that they will sit this year’s Primary Leaving Examination (PLE),’’ Kalule said
The pupils were registered at Kyebando UMEA Primary School following an intervention by UNEB after it emerged that their school did not have an examination centre number and had mistakenly believed they had been registered at another school in Mukono District.
The development comes as Uganda enters the fourth week of the 2026 national examinations, with a total of 920,833 candidates registered across 16,478 examination centres countrywide, representing a 12.5 per cent increase from the 817,885 candidates recorded last year.
According to UNEB, female candidates account for 484,620 (52.7 per cent) of the total candidature, while males number 436,213 (47.3 per cent). Government-sponsored candidates under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme stand at 576,342 (62.5 per cent), while 344,491 (37.5 per cent) are privately sponsored.
Uganda Certificate of Education candidates are expected to complete their examinations with optional local language papers and Technology and Design today, followed by ICT Theory and foreign language papers on Tuesday, November 3.
While PLE candidates will begin their examinations on Tuesday with Mathematics in the morning, followed by Social Studies and Religious Education in the afternoon. The examinations will conclude on Wednesday, November 4, with Integrated Science in the morning and English in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, UACE candidates will be briefed at their respective schools and examination centres on Friday, November 6, before beginning their written examinations on Monday, November 9. The examinations will run until Thursday, November 26, 2026.
The Board also revealed that 53 candidates, comprising 47 males and six females, are sitting their examinations at Uganda Government Upper Prison School in Luzira under Centre Number 130377.
A total of 4,655 candidates have registered with Special Needs Education (SNE) requirements. These include 2,352 males and 2,303 females.
All candidates with special needs will be granted an additional 45 minutes for each examination paper and UNEB has deployed 1,544 support personnel to provide the necessary assistance.
The examination body has warned schools against teaching or coaching PLE candidates following the briefing conducted on Friday, October 30, saying the examination process is already underway. Musamba cautioned that schools and individuals found coaching candidates after the briefing would face action in accordance with examination regulations.
Candidates have also been reminded to report to their examination rooms 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 the examination begins.
The Board has also cautioned the public against individuals operating social media platforms and soliciting money under the false promise of accessing and supplying UNEB examination papers.
Members of the public with information about suspected examination malpractice have been urged to report through UNEB’s toll-free number, 0800-211-077. The Board said whistleblowers would be protected under its Whistleblower Policy and compensated if the information provided is found useful.