PLE exams in progress
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I A total of 920,833 Primary Seven candidates across the country have started writing their 2026 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), with the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) deploying 13,738 scouts to monitor the exercise and guard against examination malpractice.
As candidates settled into examination rooms today, November 3, 2026, UNEB issued stern warnings to school administrators, teachers, invigilators, candidates and other examination officials against engaging in practices that could compromise the credibility of the national examinations.
The deployment of the scouts, alongside security personnel and 162 district monitors, is intended to strengthen supervision and ensure that the examinations are conducted in accordance with established regulations across the country’s 16,478 examination centres.
UNEB warned that it would not tolerate attempts to manipulate the examination process through smuggling of unauthorised materials, copying, collusion, impersonation, accessing leaked examination papers or receiving assistance from teachers and invigilators.
The board cautioned that anyone found participating in examination malpractice would face serious legal consequences, including imprisonment of up to 10 years or fines of up to Shs40m.
In addition to criminal prosecution, candidates who benefit from examination malpractice risk having their results cancelled, while schools and individuals found facilitating cheating could face further administrative and legal sanctions.
The warnings come amid concerns about the lengths to which some schools and individuals go to improve candidates’ performance through dishonest means, including coaching pupils on examination questions and attempting to obtain papers before they are officially administered.
UNEB particularly cautioned headteachers and school administrators against organising examination coaching programmes designed to give candidates an unfair advantage or engaging in fraudulent practices to manipulate examination outcomes.
The board also warned against illegally collecting money from parents or candidates under the pretext of facilitating examination malpractice, stressing that schools should concentrate on preparing pupils through legitimate teaching and learning activities.
Another area of concern is the fraudulent registration of privately sponsored candidates as government-sponsored pupils under the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme to exploit examination registration subsidies.
UNEB warned school administrators against misrepresenting the sponsorship status of candidates to benefit from government-funded examination registration.
Schools found guilty of such fraudulent registration practices face a 100 per cent penalty on the applicable registration fees, in addition to charges for correcting the examination records.
The board also issued a warning to schools that have been threatening to block candidates from sitting their examinations because of outstanding school fees.
UNEB emphasised that every registered candidate must be allowed to sit the examinations regardless of whether their parents or guardians have cleared the required school fees.
School administrators with legitimate financial claims against parents were advised to submit the names of affected candidates to the board so that their results could be temporarily withheld pending resolution of the outstanding payments.
The arrangement is intended to protect pupils from being punished for financial difficulties beyond their control while allowing schools to pursue legitimate claims against parents through appropriate channels.
UNEB’s position is that examination centres should not turn outstanding school fees into a barrier preventing registered candidates from exercising their right to sit the national examinations.
The deployment of 13,738 scouts is expected to play a central role in enforcing these regulations, with the personnel working alongside district monitors and security officers to identify and report suspicious activities.
Their presence across the 16,478 examination centres is also intended to deter individuals who might attempt to interfere with the examination process or provide unauthorised assistance to candidates.
The 162 district monitors will provide additional oversight, helping the board coordinate supervision and respond to emerging concerns during the examination period.
For the candidates, UNEB urged them to remain disciplined, follow instructions from examination officials and avoid any temptation to engage in practices that could jeopardise their academic future.
Teachers and invigilators were similarly reminded that their responsibility is to facilitate a fair examination environment rather than assist candidates to obtain marks through dishonest means.
The 2026 PLE is an important milestone for the 920,833 pupils completing their primary education, as their performance will determine their transition to secondary school and other post-primary education opportunities.
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