The 2025 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) are underway across Uganda, with over 817,000 candidates sitting the crucial national tests that mark the completion of primary education and determine progression to secondary school.
According to the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), a total of 817,930 candidates registered for the exams this year, a 2.5% increase from the 797,444 candidates recorded in 2024. The cohort comprises 389,557 boys (47.7%) and 428,373 girls (52.3%).
UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo confirmed that the examinations commenced on Monday, November 3, with Mathematics and SST, followed by Integrated Science and English on Tuesday, November 4.
“The board is satisfied with the general conduct of this year’s examination so far. Most centres have started smoothly despite heavy rains in some parts of the country,” Odongo said in a brief statement.
There are approximately 16,000 examination centres nationwide, an increase from 15,311 in 2024, including schools, prisons, and special needs institutions.
This year, 4,802 candidates with disabilities are sitting the PLE a 4.5% increase from last year. These include visually impaired, hearing-impaired, and physically handicapped pupils, as well as those with learning difficulties such as dyslexia. They are receiving an additional 45 minutes per paper to ensure fairness.
The board also noted the continued participation of inmates. In 2024, 108 prisoners from Luzira and Mbarara prisons sat for the exams, and a similar number is expected this year.
Despite UNEB’s heightened anti cheating measures, several malpractice incidents have already been reported in Kabale, Kisoro, and Oyam Districts, leading to arrests and ongoing investigations.
In Oyam District, three people were arrested after attempting to bribe a UNEB scout with Shs 1 million to influence exam supervision. The suspects were caught red-handed at a hotel in Lira as they handed over cash in Shs 50,000 notes.
Police say the UNEB scout secretly alerted authorities, leading to a sting operation and their immediate arrest. The suspects remain in custody as investigations proceed.
Police in Kabale District arrested Drake Kishija, the headteacher of Rwababa Primary School in Kyanamira Sub-county, for allegedly blocking a candidate, Ezekiel Ahimbisibwe, from sitting the exams over a Shs 70,000 coaching fee.
According to Kigezi Region Police Spokesperson Elly Maate, the suspect claimed the pupil had failed to pay for extra lessons, but police later escorted the boy to the exam room shortly before the end of the paper.
The incident was reported to Kabale Police Station by a relative, Gerald Natuhumuza Esau, who accused the headteacher of “unlawfully denying the boy his right to education despite being fully registered.” Investigations are ongoing.
In Kisoro District, two teachers Bernard Katabire (41) of Real Quality Primary School and Samuel Baker Munyantari (52), headteacher of Seseme Primary School were arrested on Monday for alleged involvement in examination malpractice.
According to police, the suspects were caught at Seseme Girls Primary School, where Katabire had been deployed as an invigilator.
“Around 1:00 p.m., a UNEB scout, George Kisakye, entered the classroom and found the invigilator holding a photocopied answer sheet with pre-written solutions to Mathematics questions 31 and 32,” Maate said.
UNEB has warned that any involvement in malpractice can lead to cancellation of entire results, disqualification, or imprisonment under the UNEB Act. Offenders risk up to 10 years in jail or fines of UGX 40 million.
Common offenses include collusion, impersonation, smuggling of notes, leaks, and use of unauthorized materials or gadgets during examinations.
“Anyone caught aiding or abetting examination malpractice , including teachers, scouts, or candidates will face the full force of the law,” UNEB officials reiterated in a statement.
Marking and grading of the 2025 PLE papers will begin later this month, with results expected to be released by late January 2026.
UNEB says the national grading system remains unchanged: Division One ranges from aggregate 4 to 14, while Division Four represents candidates with aggregates up to 34. Scores beyond that threshold are considered ungraded (U).
