Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) results for at least 351 candidates who sat for the 2025 national exams have been withheld by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) over malpractices.
The board’s executive director, Dan Odongo, said yesterday that cases of malpractice were reported from 47 centres out of the 2,452 centres where candidates registered for their final exams.
According to UNEB, the cases are mostly in receiving assistance in science practical papers, being in possession of unauthorized materials, and impersonation.
Odongo lauded the Uganda Police, the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces and other security agencies, who reportedly assisted the board in the smooth conduct of the examination.
Meanwhile, a total of 145,129 candidates who sat the 2025 UACE examinations qualify for admission to universities and other tertiary institutions following an overall improvement in performance.
Results released by UNEB show that 98.9 percent of candidates obtained the UACE certificate. Under current regulations, a candidate needs at least a subsidiary pass in a principal subject to qualify for the certificate.
Presenting the results, Odongo said 113,291 candidates, representing 68.6 percent, attained the minimum requirement of two principal passes for admission to degree programmes. This marks an increase from 92,273 candidates (65.5 percent) recorded in 2024.
Odongo said the improvement reflects a significant rise in the number of candidates who registered and sat the examination in 2025.
According to the results statement, if admission to other tertiary institutions, such as diploma programmes in technical and vocational institutions, is considered based on one principal pass and two subsidiary passes, then 145,129 candidates, representing 87.9 percent of the cohort, qualify for further studies.
Odongo noted that the higher qualification rate means universities will need to expand capacity to accommodate the additional learners. He is optimistic that an extra 21,018 university places should be available to absorb these candidates.
Commenting on the required additional post-secondary spaces, Education and Sports Minister Janet Museveni expressed confidence that both public and private tertiary institutions have sufficient capacity to absorb the growing number of qualified learners. However, she urged students to also consider opportunities in technical and vocational training institutions.
Museveni noted that many young people overlook the opportunities available in technical and vocational education, yet graduates from these institutions are often quickly absorbed into industries or establish their own businesses.
The board also reported a sharp rise in candidature in recent years. In the post-COVID period, the number of candidates sitting the examination has grown from 96,557 to 165,172, representing a 71 percent increase.
Absenteeism also declined, as a total of 1,228 candidates (0.7 percent) registered but did not sit the examination, compared to 1,108 candidates (0.8 percent) in 2024. UNEB noted that absenteeism has steadily dropped from about 1 percent recorded in 2020.
Despite the growth in candidature, the number of learners who proceed to sit UACE still represents less than half of those who sat the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) two years earlier. Officials from the Ministry of Education say many students pursue alternative post-UCE pathways, including technical and vocational training programmes.
A total of 166,400 candidates registered for the 2025 UACE examination, compared to 141,996 candidates in 2024; an increase of 24,404 candidates (17.2 percent). Of these, 72,764 (43.7 percent) were female and 93,636 (56.3 percent) were male.
The exams were conducted between November 10 and December 5, 2025, and the centres for the UACE examination increased by 197 (8.7 percent), from 2,255 in 2024 to 2,452 in 2025.
