By Ben Musanje
As more than 730,000 candidates celebrated passing the 2025 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) cast a long shadow over the results after withholding thousands of candidates’ marks in Kampala, Wakiso, Kisoro and other districts over widespread cheating allegations.
UNEB announced that 730,233 candidates passed the examinations, an improvement from the previous year, during the official release at State Lodge, Nakasero, presided over by the Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni.
While the national performance showed progress, the celebrations were tempered by what UNEB described as alarming levels of examination malpractice, particularly in highly competitive districts.
According to UNEB Executive Director Dan N. Odongo, cheating had escalated from discreet collusion to open confrontation, with some school directors and head teachers allegedly bribing or threatening invigilators with physical harm in order to allow teachers into examination rooms to assist candidates. He further indicated that some officials within district education offices were suspected to be part of the malpractice networks.
As a result, UNEB withheld results for thousands of candidates in Kampala, Wakiso, Kisoro, Mukono, Namutumba, Kassanda, Buyende and Kaliro as investigations continue. Odongo explained that UNEB’s Security Committee would sit as a tribunal to give affected candidates a fair hearing before determining whether the results would be released or cancelled.
Despite the scandal, overall performance improved compared to 2024. UNEB reported that 7,503 more candidates passed in 2025, with 91,990 attaining Division One, an increase of 7,689 candidates. The most common grade was Division Two with 388,293 candidates, followed by Division Three with 165,226 candidates, while 84,724 candidates passed in Division Four.
Gender analysis showed that although more girls, numbering 380,264, passed the examinations compared to 349,969 boys, boys performed better proportionally in the top divisions. UNEB indicated that 12.54 percent of boys attained Division One compared to 10.35 percent of girls, while failure rates were higher among girls.
A total of 817,883 candidates from 15,388 examination centres sat the 2025 PLE, representing a 2.6 percent increase from the previous year. Most candidates, accounting for 63.8 percent, were from Universal Primary Education schools.
While Kampala, Wakiso and Kisoro were flagged among the districts with the highest levels of malpractice, UNEB commended Kyenjojo, Kabarole and Bundibugyo for significant improvements in examination integrity. Kyenjojo was highlighted for registering no cases of malpractice after strict disciplinary measures were enforced following offences recorded the previous year.
UNEB stated that the withheld results would remain frozen until investigations are concluded. Results for candidates not implicated in malpractice have already been uploaded to the UNEB centre portal, with hard copies scheduled for collection by district inspectors starting next week. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
