Pader registers 3,982 candidates for 2026 PLE

28 October 2026, 4:25 pm

By Geoffrey Okwong

Pader District has registered 3,982 candidates for the 2026 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), with education officials and school administrators expressing readiness for the national examinations.

The candidates comprise 2,009 boys and 1,973 girls, including 3,622 candidates from Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools and 360 from non-UPE schools.

Speaking during a briefing for PLE field staff at Lacekocot Primary School in Atanga Town Council, Sarah Adong, the UNEB District Scout for Pader, urged examination officials to follow the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) guidelines to ensure the exercise is conducted securely and credibly.

Adong said the 2026 UNEB theme, “Advancing excellence in assessment and certification through secure, credible, inclusive and innovative processes,” calls for vigilance at every stage of the examination process.

She cautioned field staff to pay particular attention to examination materials for learners with special educational needs, warning that mishandling or mixing up envelopes could affect candidates’ examination outcomes.

Adong also encouraged officials to read the examination manual carefully, understand their assigned responsibilities and contact UNEB whenever they encounter situations they cannot resolve.

At school level, Jimmy Oringa, Head Teacher of Luyang Memorial Nursery and Primary School in Atanga Town Council, said his school was prepared for the examinations and had 39 candidates.

Oringa said the school had briefed teachers and pupils and had also held a prayer session ahead of the examinations.

Meanwhile, Okumu David Domkus, Head Teacher of Lacekocot Primary School, said the school had prepared its candidates during the first and second terms and was ready to conduct the examinations.

Domkus, however, expressed concern that the abrupt discontinuation of support from Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) collections had affected some of the planned candidate preparation activities and the purchase of examination materials.

He said his school had made arrangements to provide candidates with breakfast and lunch during the examination period.

Caroline Alimokuc, a teacher at Latayi Primary School, said candidates at her school were ready and waiting for the examination date. She also described the field staff training as useful, saying it had equipped her with additional knowledge compared with the previous year.

The 2026 PLE is expected to assess candidates completing primary education, with education officials urging all stakeholders to support a smooth and orderly examination exercise.