The board also revealed that 62.5% of the candidates are from government-sponsored Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools, while 37.5% are from private schools.
The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has registered 920,833 candidates for the 2026 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), representing a 12.5% increase from last year’s candidature.
The examinations will begin on Tuesday, November 3, and end on Wednesday, November 4.
UNEB Principal Public Relations Officer Jennifer Kalule Musamba said the candidates are registered at 16,478 examination centres across the country.
She said the board had started distributing examination materials to various distribution centres to ensure they reach all examination centres before the start of the examinations.
“As I speak right now, we are transporting the various examination materials to the various distribution centres. This began yesterday, and we continue to distribute all the examination materials to ensure that all our centres are able to access them in good time,” Kalule said.
She explained that the decision to start the examinations on Tuesday, instead of Monday, was intended to address logistical challenges previously raised by stakeholders, particularly those involved in transporting examination materials and facilitating the exercise.
According to Kalule, some stakeholders had complained about difficulties transporting examination materials over the weekend, as well as delays in receiving their facilitation.
Monday was therefore set aside to allow those responsible for the logistics to complete the necessary arrangements, with relevant offices and personnel available to support the process.
Kalule said UNEB had completed preparations for the examinations and urged examination centre heads to adequately brief candidates on the examination regulations to minimise malpractice.
“We hope that they did a very good job. If they did a good job, we know we shall not have many cases of examination malpractice,” she said.
Of the 920,833 candidates, females account for 52.7%, while males constitute 47.3%, according to UNEB.
The board also revealed that 62.5% of the candidates are from government-sponsored Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools, while 37.5% are from private schools.
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Kalule applauded government-aided schools and their teachers, saying the growing number of learners enrolling in UPE schools reflected parents’ confidence in the programme.
“We want to applaud all those centres and the teachers who teach at the UPE schools because of the good work they are doing. More parents are finding it comfortable to take their learners to those schools,” she said.
The 2026 PLE will also be sat by 53 candidates from Uganda Government Upper Prison School at Luzira Government Prison, comprising six females and 47 males.
Kalule thanked the prison authorities for giving inmates an opportunity to pursue their education and sit the national examinations despite their incarceration.
“We want to thank the prison services and the administration for giving these candidates an opportunity to sit for their examination,” she said.
The PLE is part of a busy national examination calendar, with UNEB conducting three national examinations within the same period.
The ongoing Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations are expected to conclude on Tuesday, November 3, the same day PLE begins.
Meanwhile, Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) candidates will be briefed on Friday, November 6, before beginning their examinations on Monday, November 9. The examinations will run until November 26.
Kalule said the board had not recorded any major incidents during the first two weeks of the ongoing examination period, thanking all stakeholders involved in the exercise.
“We are happy to report that for the last two weeks, we’ve not had any major incidents. I want to thank everybody who has been part of this process thus far,” she said.
This year’s examinations are being conducted under the theme, “Advancing Excellence in Assessment and Certification through Secure, Credible, Inclusive and Innovative Processes.”
UNEB has reiterated the importance of examination security and the protection of candidates, saying these are critical to safeguarding the credibility and integrity of Uganda’s national assessment and certification system.