Ministry of Education releases 2025 UCE results as candidate numbers rise

13 February 2026, 1:59 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The Ministry of Education and Sports has officially released the 2025 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) results following the successful conduct of the examinations last year, with a significant increase in the number of candidates compared to 2024.

While addressing the country during the release, the Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, congratulated learners who passed and encouraged those who did not perform well to try again, emphasizing that there is always another opportunity for improvement. She thanked all stakeholders, including learners, parents, teachers, security agencies, and examination officials, for their participation and commitment to ensuring a smooth examination process.

The Minister also expressed gratitude for the collaboration between the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) and the National Curriculum Development Centre in implementing the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), and announced that the Senior Five placement exercise will take place on 18th and 19th February 2026.

Speaking at the same event, UNEB Chairperson Professor Celestino Obua described 2025 as a busy but more stable year for the Board, noting that while 2024 involved navigating new changes under the CBC, the Board’s capacity had significantly improved in 2025. He emphasized that UNEB takes the integrity of examination scores seriously and has instituted rigorous monitoring and evaluation exercises in schools across the country to ensure adherence to guidelines and reliability of results.

UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo revealed that a total of 432,163 candidates from 3,975 examination centres registered for UCE 2025, compared to 359,417 candidates in 2024, reflecting an increase of 72,746 candidates, equivalent to 20.2 percent. Of the registered candidates, 204,292 were male and 227,871 were female, while 154,642 were beneficiaries of the USE programme and 277,521 were non-USE candidates. A total of 429,949 candidates were present for the examinations, representing 99.5 percent attendance, while only 2,214 candidates were absent.

The Board also registered 708 Special Needs Education candidates and made adequate arrangements including modified examination papers, Braille materials, enlarged print for candidates with low vision, sign language interpreters for the deaf, and an additional 45 minutes per paper for all Special Needs candidates. Additionally, 64 candidates from Luzira Prison and Mbarara Main Prison sat for the examinations.

Findings from UNEB’s research on the Competency-Based Curriculum showed that 93 percent of headteachers interviewed agreed that learners under the new curriculum demonstrate stronger problem-solving skills, while teachers in at least 96 percent of surveyed schools expressed support for the curriculum. However, challenges were noted, including the high cost and time-consuming nature of learner projects, limited internet access, and concerns from learners about insufficient time to complete assignments.

In his conclusion, Odongo reported that 428,628 candidates, representing 99.6 percent, qualify for the UCE certificate and will have “Result One” indicated on their transcripts. “Result Two” will apply to candidates who did not fulfill all award conditions, such as missing project or continuous assessment scores, while “Result Three” will be awarded to candidates who scored below basic in all subjects. Cases of examination malpractice were minimal, with only 64 reported.

He thanked area supervisors, security agencies, marking centres, and heads of schools for their cooperation, and advised that any queries regarding results must be submitted through the UNEB portal within 21 days. The release ceremony was attended by the Permanent Secretary and Ministers of State for Education and Sports, including John Chrysestom Muyingo, who reminded teachers that the Competency-Based Curriculum is intensive and requires their full physical presence and dedication to ensure its successful implementation.