The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has rescued 11 candidates from Skyland Primary School in Wakiso District who were initially left out of the registration process, allowing them to sit the 2026 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) after an emergency arrangement.
The candidates, whose school had no examination centre number, were registered at Kyebando UMEA Primary School on Sunday evening, following intervention by UNEB management.
UNEB spokesperson Jennifer Kalule-Musamba said the Board received the case over the weekend after the school discovered that its candidates had not been registered as expected.
“After briefing, we received a case of 11 students from Skyland Primary School in Wakiso, who had not been registered. Their school had no Centre number, they thought they had been registered at another school in Mukono,” Kalule-Musamba said.
“They reached out to UNEB over the weekend, and for the sake of the candidates, management asked the school to identify a Centre in Wakiso which could accommodate them.”
The candidates were subsequently registered at Kyebando UMEA Primary School, with UNEB assuring their parents that the registration setback would not prevent them from sitting the national examinations.
“Last evening, the candidates were duly registered at Kyebando UMEA Primary School. So we want to reassure the parent and the learners that the candidates will write their papers,” she said.
The intervention comes as the 2026 PLE officially gets under way, with candidates scheduled to sit Mathematics on Tuesday 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.
920,833 candidates registered for PLE 2026
Kalule-Musamba said final preparations had been completed, 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,” she said.
She confirmed that candidate briefing sessions had been conducted across the country on Friday, October 30.
“Briefing of candidates went on smoothly in all schools on Friday 30th October,” she said.
UNEB has registered 920,833 candidates for this year’s PLE, representing a 12.5 per cent increase from the 817,885 candidates recorded in 2025.
The candidates are spread across 16,478 examination centres countrywide.
Of the total candidature, 484,620, representing 52.7 per cent, are female, while 436,213, or 47.3 per cent, are male.
A total of 576,342 candidates, equivalent to 62.5 per cent, are sponsored under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme, while 344,491, representing 37.5 per cent, are privately sponsored.
The examination will also be written by 53 candidates at Uganda Government Upper Prison School Luzira, examination centre number 130377, comprising six females and 47 males.
UNEB deploys support for 4,655 special needs candidates
The Board has made arrangements to accommodate 4,655 candidates with special educational needs, including 2,352 males and 2,303 females.
Kalule-Musamba said the candidates would receive specialised assistance depending on their individual requirements.
“These SNE learners will be given the necessary support, including braille question papers and answer sheets for the blind, large print question papers for those with low vision, sign language interpreters for the deaf, and transcribers for learners with dyslexia and those with severe physical impairments (reading and writing challenges),” she said.
“All SNE candidates will be allowed 45 extra minutes for each paper.”
UNEB has deployed 1,544 support personnel to assist candidates with special needs during the examinations.
The Board has also urged scouts and invigilators to remain attentive to the needs of these candidates and cooperate with the personnel assigned to support them.
“The support personnel sent by UNEB should also be accorded with the necessary cooperation to enable them to render the required support to the SNE candidates,” Kalule-Musamba said.
The field conduct of the examinations will be overseen by 162 district monitors and 13,738 scouts, alongside security personnel deployed to protect examination materials, candidates and field officers.
UNEB warns schools against post-briefing coaching
With the candidate briefing exercise completed, UNEB has issued a stern warning against continued teaching or coaching of candidates, saying the examination process is already under way.
“We want to emphasize that the PLE is already under way, following the briefing of candidates on Friday 30th October; Therefore, there MUST be no more teaching/coaching whether within the school premises or outside the school,” Kalule-Musamba said.
She warned that schools and individuals found violating the directive would face disciplinary action.
“Anyone found/reported to be teaching/coaching candidates will be dealt with according to the rules and regulations that govern the conduct of examinations.”
The spokesperson said the Board had received information about some examination centres allegedly planning to continue coaching candidates on Monday.
“We have received reports from whistle blowers regarding some centres that are contemplating coaching learners today. Just know, you are being watched,” she warned.
UNEB has also reminded candidates to arrive at examination rooms by 8:30 a.m. for morning papers and 1:30 p.m. for afternoon papers to allow for identification and checking.
Late candidates may only be admitted within the first 15 minutes after the examination begins.
Candidates have been instructed to verify that examination paper envelopes have not been tampered with before opening them and to follow all instructions printed on the question papers.
They must write their school’s random number, personal number and name, without writing the name of their school on the question paper.
The Board has further directed candidates to use blue or black pens, warning that work written in pencil will not be marked except for drawings.
Warning against Examination Malpractice
The Board has cautioned candidates, teachers, invigilators and members of the public against involvement in examination malpractice, including impersonation, collusion, smuggling unauthorised materials, leaking examination papers and substitution of scripts.
Kalule-Musamba warned that candidates found engaging in malpractice risk disqualification or cancellation of their results.
“The Board strongly warns all people contemplating involvement in any form of examination malpractice that they will be dealt with in accordance with the UNEB Act CAP 259,” she said.
She also raised concern about individuals operating social media platforms and allegedly collecting money from members of the public in exchange for purported access to UNEB examination papers.
“The public is alerted that there are people who have set up social media platforms and have been collecting money purportedly to access and supply UNEB question papers,” she said.
Kalule-Musamba said anyone found engaging in such activities could face prosecution under Section 25 of the UNEB Act.
“Any person found doing so will be dealt with in accordance with Section 25 (1) (2) and (4) of the UNEB Act cap 259, which provides for a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment upon conviction, or a fine of Forty million shillings, or both.”
Invigilators and scouts have also been warned against negligence, with the Board saying those who allow malpractice under their watch could face up to five years in prison or a fine of Shs20 million, or both, under Section 26 of the Act.
Members of the public with information about suspected examination malpractice have been urged to report it through UNEB’s toll-free number.
The Board said informers would be protected under its whistleblower policy and compensated if their information proved useful.
UNEB reassures candidates ahead of examinations
Despite the registration setback involving the Skyland Primary School candidates, UNEB has assured learners and parents that the Board remains committed to ensuring the smooth and credible conduct of the examinations.
Kalule-Musamba encouraged candidates to approach the examinations with confidence, saying the assessment was intended to measure their academic progress rather than make them fail.
“Finally, we want to assure the candidates that 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.
“They have what it takes to pass the examination, and we wish them God’s blessings.”
The PLE is the first of Uganda’s three national examination series to begin this week, with the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations entering their final stages.
The Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations will officially commence with candidate briefings on Friday, November 6, before written papers begin on Monday, November 9, and run until Thursday, November 26.
You can see the lists of top best performing schools in previous PLE sittings Here, There and Over There.
