Primary Seven candidates across Uganda have today begun their 2025 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) under tight supervision by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB).
The national exams, which mark the end of seven years of primary education, are being conducted at 16,140 centres across the country. This year’s sitting has 817,885 registered candidates, a 2.5 percent increase from 2024’s 797,444.
UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo said the board has deployed a robust team to ensure smooth and credible examinations. The deployment includes 160 district monitors, 13,841 scouts, 12,260 chief invigilators, 33,105 invigilators, and 524 security officers to oversee and safeguard the exercise.
Of the candidates, 428,356 (52%) are girls and 389,529 (48%) are boys — maintaining a recent trend of female dominance at the primary level.
Candidates began with Mathematics this morning and will write Social Studies and Religious Education (SST & RE) in the afternoon. The exams continue on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, with Integrated Science in the morning and English in the afternoon.
Mr. Odongo assured the public that UNEB remains committed to maintaining examination integrity.
“We will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute anyone attempting to compromise the credibility of our exams, regardless of their status,” he warned.
Out of the total candidates, 522,039 (64%) are under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme, while 295,846 (36%) are privately sponsored.
The 2025 PLE also includes 61 inmates from Upper Prison School, Luzira — seven female and 54 male — underscoring UNEB’s commitment to inclusive education.
In addition, 3,644 candidates with special needs are sitting for the exams. Among them are 33 blind, 620 with low vision, 300 with hearing impairments, and 1,318 with dyslexia or multiple impairments.
