KAMPALA – The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has released the timetables for the 2026 national examinations for learners sitting the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE).
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The timetable was released by Dan N. Odongo, the Executive Director of the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), on Wednesday while addressing the press at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala.
The UNEB boss announced a record provisional candidature of 1,627,885 learners slated to sit for the 2026 final exams across the PLE, UCE, and UACE, an increase of 211,437 candidates (14.9%) compared with last year’s 1,416,448.
The 2026 examination series will kick off on Thursday, 8 October with the briefing of UCE candidates and close on Friday, 5 December with the end of UACE exams.
The UCE examination will run from Thursday, 8 October to Tuesday, 3 November. The PLE will start with briefing on Friday, 30 October and end on Wednesday, 4 November. The UACE briefing will be conducted from Friday, 7 November, with the examination closing on Friday, 5 December.
Dan Odongo noted that at the PLE level, candidature rose to 920,796, up 12.4% from 818,885 in 2025, while UCE recorded 503,214 candidates, a 16.4% increase from 432,163.
UACE saw the sharpest rise, with 203,875 candidates, up 22.5% from 166,400. Of the total candidature, 52% are female, 48% male, and 52% government-sponsored under the Universal Education programmes.
The UNEB boss confirmed that a total of 6,090 candidates are Special Needs Education learners, with UNEB attributing the surge to higher completion rates as more learners stay in school and transition to the next level.
Meanwhile, UACE recorded an extremely sharp increase in traditional science subjects, with Physics entries rising from 21,302 to 35,029 (64.4%), Chemistry from 37,134 to 64,501 (73.7%), and Biology from 35,660 to 64,288 (80.3%).
The 2026 UCE candidates form the third cohort to be assessed under the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC), while UACE candidates were the pioneers of CBC at the lower secondary level and will be assessed under a curriculum aligned to CBC and its assessment modalities.
Under CBC, Continuous Assessment contributes 20% of a learner’s overall achievement while the End of Cycle contributes 80%, with project scores standing alone and CA score submission currently at 82%.
Schools that have not submitted Term II Senior Four scores have until 30 September 2026 to do so, and UNEB warned it will not grade learners whose final CA and project scores are not submitted in time.
Jennifer Kalule Musamba, the UNEB Spokesperson, noted that schools are urged to ensure every UCE and UACE candidate receives a copy and that timetables are displayed on noticeboards.
She noted that the display of candidates’ registers, required under the UNEB Act CAP 259, runs until 7 October 2026. Candidates should confirm the correctness and order of names, date of birth, gender, photograph resolution, and registered subjects and papers, then sign a parallel register.
The Board has since cautioned against fake examination papers, warning that scammers would soon begin vending fake papers to the public, and urged teachers, parents, and guardians not to be duped.
About the Author
