The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has officially released the timetables for the 2025 national examinations, including the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE).
According to the schedules released on Monday, this year’s examination season will begin with UCE on October 13, followed by PLE on November 3, and UACE on November 10.
Mandatory candidate briefings will take place prior to the examinations. UCE candidates will be briefed on October 10, PLE candidates on October 31, and UACE candidates on November 7.
Candidature goes up by 7.5%
Addressing the media during the release, UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo announced that a total of 1,416,468 candidates have been registered to sit for the three national examinations this year—marking a significant 7.5% increase from last year’s 1,308,998.
Of the total registered candidates, 51.5% are female, while 48.5% are male, continuing a trend of increased female participation in national assessments.
At the PLE level, candidature rose from 797,444 in 2024 to 818,010 in 2025, reflecting a 2.5% increase. UCE saw a notable 12.1% increase, growing from 379,699 to 432,025 candidates. The UACE level experienced the highest percentage growth, with candidates rising from 141,996 to 166,433—a 14.7% increase compared to the previous year.
A total of 4,802 candidates have been registered under Special Needs Education (SNE), representing a 4.5% increase from 4,587 in 2024. Of these, 3,619 are at the PLE level, 670 at UCE, and 513 at UACE.
In terms of sponsorship, 719,016 candidates (51%) are funded by the government under the Universal Education Programmes, while 697,452 (49%) are privately sponsored.
UNEB emphasized the importance of adhering strictly to the timetables and urged schools and candidates to prepare accordingly.
