The Uganda National Examinations Board has extended the normal registration period for the 2026 national examinations by one month, moving the deadline from May 31 to June 30, 2026, in a move aimed at accommodating newly accredited examination centres across the country.
While addressing journalists on Friday, UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo said the registration exercise for the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) was progressing steadily.
According to Odongo, UNEB expects about 808,000 candidates to sit PLE examinations this year, of whom 673,992 had already been registered by Friday morning, representing approximately 77 percent.
For UCE, the board expects nearly 500,000 candidates, with 299,483 already registered, while 109,718 candidates had so far registered for UACE out of the projected 180,000.
Odongo, however, cautioned schools and parents against waiting until the last minute to register candidates, warning that Uganda continues to suffer from what he termed a “deadline syndrome.”
UNEB announced that late registration will run from July 1 to July 31, 2026. Candidates registering during the late period will attract surcharges of 100 percent for PLE and 50 percent for both UCE and UACE. The board stressed that no registration will be accepted after July 31.
Government will continue to meet examination registration costs for learners under the Universal Primary Education (UPE), Universal Secondary Education (USE), and Universal Post O-Level Education and Training Programme (UPOLET).
Privately sponsored candidates will pay Shs34,000 for PLE, Shs164,000 for UCE, and Shs186,000 for UACE registration.
UNEB also urged parents, guardians, and school administrators to ensure that candidates’ names are captured correctly in line with birth certificates or records from the National Identification and Registration Authority before registration is completed.
The examinations body further noted that 2026 UCE and UACE candidates will continue under the competency-based curriculum and assessment system. Continuous Assessment scores and project work, UNEB said, remain mandatory requirements for UCE registration.
Odongo warned school administrators against charging unauthorized “UNEB fees,” misappropriating registration funds, or fraudulently registering private learners as government-sponsored candidates.
He said offenders risk penalties including fines of up to Shs40 million, imprisonment of up to 10 years, withdrawal of examination centre numbers, and deregistration from the teaching profession.
UNEB also directed all examination centres to display candidates’ registers on school noticeboards to enable verification of details such as names, gender, dates of birth, photographs, and subject combinations before examinations commence.
Parents and guardians will additionally be able to confirm candidates’ registration status by sending an SMS containing the candidate’s full index number to 6600.
The board also reminded candidates that the use of erasable pens during UNEB examinations remains prohibited.
