Over 1 million candidates registered for Uneb

Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb) executive director Daniel Odongo reacts during the release of 2022 UACE results in Kampala on March 3, 2023. PHOTO/HANDOUT

What you need to know:

  • Final deadline. Uneb says beyond July 31, schools will not be able to register any candidate.
  • This year’s candidates are expected to sit for their exams in October starting with UCE candidates followed by PLE and UACE in November.

More than 1.1 million candidates have been registered to sit for the 2023 national examinations. Uganda National Examination Board (Uneb) had first set May 31 as the deadline for registration of Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) candidates.

However, according to the June 1 press statement from the Executive Director of Uneb, Mr Daniel Odongo, the board has decided to extend the deadline to June 7 to accommodate more students.

“Heads of centres are hereby notified that it is possible to register additional candidates even after submission of the main list,” Mr Odongo said.

At the end of the initial deadline, at least 96 percent of PLE, 91.2 percent of UCE and 86 percent of the UACE candidates had been registered.

This according to Uneb, translated to 1,165,159 candidates registered for all the three sets of examinations from 20,655  examination centres.

The board last year registered a total of 1.2m learners for the three set of examinations hence about 900,000 are yet to be registered this year.

However, all candidates who will be registered after June 7, will be subjected to a surcharge.
Mr Odongo said PLE candidates who will register between June 8 and 30 will pay a surcharge of 100 percent (Shs68,000) while UCE and UACE will pay a surcharge of 50 percent (246,000 and 279,000).

In the final phase of late registration, candidates who will register in July will have to pay a surcharge of 100 percent at each level. In this regard, PLE candidates will be required to pay Shs68,000, UCE Shs328,000 while UACE will pay Shs372,000. 

Uneb has cautioned headteachers and parents that beyond July 31, schools will not be able to register any candidate.

The above surcharge applies to private students across the country. Government pays registration fees for all the students studying in the universal primary and secondary schools and those in seed schools.

This year’s candidates are expected to sit for their exams in October starting with UCE candidates followed by PLE and UACE in November.