A total of 1,416,468 candidates have been registered to sit for the 2025 final examinations for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE), according to the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB).
Of the registered candidates, 51.5% are female and 48.5% are male, reflecting a slight increase of 1,470 candidates compared to last year’s 1,308,999 students.
Breaking down the numbers, 818,010 candidates will sit for PLE, 432,025 for UCE, and 166,436 for UACE.
UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo disclosed these figures while addressing the press at the Uganda Media Centre on Monday.
He also released the examination timetable, confirming that the exams will begin with the briefing of UCE candidates on Friday, October 10th. The PLE exams will commence on Friday, October 31st, followed by UACE exams starting on November 7th, 2025.
This will be the second time UNEB assesses candidates under the Competency Based Curriculum for UCE.
Odongo further cautioned head teachers against falsely registering regular students as special needs candidates to gain extra time during exams, warning that such actions could lead to license suspension.
For the 2025 exams, 4,802 candidates have been registered as special needs students—3,619 for PLE, 670 for UCE, and 513 for UACE.
By Olivia Nabaggala
22nd Sept 2025
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