The Ministry of Education and Sports has ordered school headteachers across Uganda to allow all candidates registered for the 2026 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations to sit their papers, even if they have outstanding school fees or other charges.
The directive follows complaints that some schools had prevented registered candidates from accessing examination rooms because of unpaid school dues, raising concerns about the disruption of learners’ end-of-cycle assessments.
The ministry has now clarified that schools cannot deny registered candidates the opportunity to sit their examinations on account of unpaid fees. Instead, headteachers must follow an administrative procedure that allows the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) to withhold results until the outstanding balances are cleared.
Ministry of Education and Sports spokesperson Dr Dennis Mugimba said Acting Education Minister Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo had intervened after receiving reports of schools denying candidates access to their examinations.
“It has been drawn to the attention of the Acting Minister of Education and Sports, Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo, that some schools are denying UNEB-registered candidates who have outstanding school fees and/or charges from sitting their end-of-cycle examinations,” said Dr Mugimba in a statement seen by The Pearl Times.
“Therefore, the Acting Minister of Education and Sports has directed that any UNEB-registered candidate must be allowed to sit his or her end-of-cycle exams irrespective of whether he or she has any outstanding school fees or charges owed to the respective school.”
Under the directive, schools must allow candidates to complete their examinations before pursuing the recovery of outstanding fees through the established administrative channels.
Dr Mugimba explained that headteachers are responsible for notifying UNEB about candidates who sit their examinations before settling their school debts.
“It is the responsibility of the respective headteacher to officially communicate to the Uganda National Examinations Board the particulars of candidates who have sat their end-of-cycle exams before clearing outstanding school fees or charges to enable UNEB withhold the results of such candidates,” he stated.
The ministry further clarified that withholding results is not necessarily permanent. Once the outstanding school fees or charges have been paid, the responsible headteacher must formally notify UNEB so that the affected candidate’s results can be released.
“It is further the responsibility of the responsible headteacher to formally inform UNEB when to release the results of any candidate whose results had been withheld on account of non-payment of outstanding school fees or charges.”
The directive also addresses concerns that schools might impose additional financial penalties on candidates who are permitted to sit their examinations before clearing their balances.
Dr Mugimba said such candidates should not face extra charges arising from the arrangement.
“Any outstanding school fees or charges by UNEB-registered candidates who were allowed to sit their end-of-cycle exams prior to settling such dues shall not incur any penalty or fee,” he noted.
The ministry said the directive had been communicated to stakeholders across the education sector, including school proprietors, foundation bodies, members of School Management Committees and Boards of Governors, headteachers, education administrators and UNEB.
“The media fraternity, public, school proprietors and foundation bodies, Chairpersons of School Management Committees and Boards of Governors, headteachers, education administrators at all levels of government, and the Executive Director of UNEB are hereby informed.”
The ministry cited existing legal provisions as the basis for the directive, pointing to Section 3(1) of the Education (Pre-Primary, Primary, and Post-Primary) Act, 2008, which requires the minister responsible for education to ensure that national education policies and constitutional objectives are implemented across learning institutions.
Section 3(2)(a) of the same law empowers the minister to initiate education policies and reforms as circumstances demand.
The directive therefore requires schools to separate the administration of national examinations from the collection of outstanding school fees, allowing registered candidates to sit their papers while leaving the handling of unpaid balances and the release of results to the prescribed procedure.
You can see the list of schools which failed to register candidates for UCE 2026 Here.
