Table of Contents
KAMPALA — The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has officially wrapped up the late registration exercise for the 2026 national examination cycle, confirming that a total of 1,626,389 candidates across the country have been registered to sit for this year’s national assessments.
The announcement follows the midnight cutoff on Friday, 31st July 2026, which marked the final deadline for school heads and center directors to complete online portal entries and physically submit candidate registration files to the board’s headquarters.
With the registration portal now officially locked, UNEB is transitioning into data cleaning and quality assurance procedures before releasing draft registers to schools for mandatory public display and parental verification.
How many candidates have registered for the 2026 UNEB national examinations?
According to official figures released by UNEB Principal Public Relations Officer, Ms. Jennifer Kalule Musamba, the board has recorded a combined total of 1,626,389 candidates across all three national assessment tiers: Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE).
Ms. Kalule noted that while the normal registration phase closed at the end of June with over 1.6 million learners already captured on the portal, the July late registration window allowed latecomers and newly accredited centers to finalize their entries.
“As I speak, as of today, we had a total of 1,626,389 candidates who had registered for all the levels of the examinations,” Ms. Kalule confirmed in an official statement following the closure of the registration window.
Why were physical registration files required alongside online portal uploads?
A key requirement during this year’s candidate registration has been the submission of physical registration files alongside online portal uploads.
Explaining the necessity of this dual-track process, Ms. Kalule emphasized that physical files serve as a vital counter-check mechanism during the board’s internal quality assurance phase.
“We have the physical submission of the files for registration, and then the online registration. Why the physical submission? Because we do that to counter-check, do quality assurance, and make sure that what is online is actually what is in the files, the final album,” she explained.
During the late registration phase throughout July, candidates who missed the normal June deadline paid additional surcharges—a 100 percent surcharge for PLE candidates (raising fees from Shs 34,000 to Shs 68,000) and a 50 percent surcharge for UCE and UACE candidates (raising fees to Shs 246,000 and Shs 279,000, respectively).
When will draft candidate registers be displayed at schools for verification?
With the portal now locked, UNEB technical teams have begun extensive data cleaning and verification.
Ms. Kalule announced that by 15th August 2026, the board will distribute draft candidate registers to all registered primary and secondary examination centers nationwide. Headteachers and school directors are legally required to pin these draft registers on school notice boards for public viewing.
“We hope that after the registration, we are going to do the quality assurance, we are going to do data cleaning, and by 15th of August, we should be able to share the draft registers with the schools,” Ms. Kalule stated. “And then the schools should be able to hang the registers at the school notice boards for everybody to confirm if their child has been registered.”
What specific bio-data details must parents and candidates verify on the school notice boards?
UNEB has issued a strong appeal to parents, guardians, and candidates to physically visit their respective schools during the display period to carefully inspect the draft registers.
Errors caught during this display window can be rectified smoothly before UNEB prints final result slips and certificates. Ms. Kalule highlighted several critical areas requiring thorough inspection:
- Confirmation of Registration Status: Parents must verify that their child’s name actually appears on the official center list.
- Spelling of Names: Check for typos or computer merging errors. Ms. Kalule cited instances where first and last names are accidentally joined together without spaces (for example, “JenniferKalule” instead of “Jennifer Kalule”).
- Order of Names: Ensure surnames and given names are arranged in the exact order recorded on official birth certificates or NIRA identification documents.
- Date of Birth: Double-check that the correct day, month, and year of birth are reflected.
- Gender Designation: Verify male/female classifications, especially for candidates with unisex names (such as “West”), which can sometimes be incorrectly auto-categorized by computers during registration.
- Photograph Quality: Inspect the uploaded passport photograph to ensure it is clear and high-resolution, as this exact photo will permanently appear on the candidate’s official transcript and result slip.
“In case there’s need to make any amendment, you inform the school. You inform the school that there’s an amendment in here, there’s an error here, we need to make an amendment, and then we shall make the correction and you’ll be able to get quality data,” Ms. Kalule advised.
How can parents verify candidate registration or report errors?
If a parent discovers that their child was left off the register despite paying registration fees, or if there are errors in the candidate’s bio-data, they must immediately report the issue to the school administration before the display window concludes.
Parents can also verify candidate registration status remotely via SMS by typing the candidate’s full index number and sending it to 6600. For direct inquiries or to report extortion or unregistered candidate grievances, UNEB can be reached directly through its toll-free help lines: 0800-211-077 and 0800-111-427, or via office line 0417-773100.
UNEB confirms 1.6 million candidates for 2026 exams – NTV Uganda
