The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has issued a stern warning to schools against falsely registering normal students as Special Needs Education (SNE) candidates, a practice the Board describes as fraudulent and criminal.
Speaking during the official release of the 2025 national examination timetables for the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE), UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo revealed that the board had received reports of schools—particularly at the primary level—misreporting or exaggerating disabilities in order to secure extra time and other exam accommodations for their candidates.
“Some schools are registering normal and healthy learners as special needs candidates. Others deliberately misreport conditions such as dyslexia and low vision to justify requests for transcribers and extended time,” Odongo said.
He added that there are instances where sign language interpreters are misused, being asked to interpret examination questions instead of assisting learners with hearing impairments, an act that directly contravenes UNEB policy and compromises the integrity of national examinations.
Odongo noted that such abuse of the system has led to an artificial surge in the number of reported SNE candidates, consequently increasing the burden on UNEB in terms of personnel deployment and logistical planning.
“This is criminal and fraudulent. Any school that does not heed this warning will face sanctions. The first step will be the withholding of results for any candidate found to have been falsely registered under SNE,” he cautioned.
UNEB also used the opportunity to remind school administrators, candidates, and parents of the need to uphold discipline during the examination period.
“Being a candidate does not exempt one from school rules. UNEB does not support indiscipline and will not protect any candidate who faces disciplinary action due to misconduct,” Odongo said. He urged parents to provide proper guidance to their children to avoid incidents that could jeopardize their academic futures.
This year, UNEB registered a 4.5% increase in Special Needs Education candidates, rising from 4,587 in 2024 to 4,802 in 2025. Of these, 3,619 are registered for PLE, 670 for UCE, and 513 for UACE.
