By Frank Kamuntu
The Executive Director of the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), Dan Nokrach Odongo, has officially unveiled the timetable for the 2023 national examinations.
This year’s national exams are scheduled to commence on Friday, October 13, with the candidates’ briefing for the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) level. The first paper, Geography, is set to take place on October 16, 2023, and the UCE Examination will continue until November 17, 2023.
The Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) will take place from November 7th to 9th, 2023, with candidates’ briefing preceding the start of the exams. The final set of exams, the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE), is slated for November 10 to December 1, 2023.
Odongo emphasized the importance of making the timetable readily available to all candidates and ensuring it is displayed on school notice boards. He encouraged centre heads to access the timetables through their respective portals.
A total of 1,224,371 candidates have registered for all three levels of the final examinations, distributed across 20,921 centres. Of the total candidates, 51% are female, while 49% are male.
“We have seen a 13.5% increase in UACE candidature, totalling 110,579 candidates this year, compared to 97,889 last year,” Odongo announced.
At the UCE level, there is a 4.3% increase, with candidature rising from 349,433 to 364,421 candidates this year.
However, there has been a 10% decrease in PLE candidature, dropping from 832,809 last year to 749,371 this year.
Odongo also mentioned that a nationwide pre-test of test items has been conducted, with the results under analysis. The pretest involved 220 schools and approximately 6,000 students.
PRESS STATEMENT FOR THE RELEASE OF THE PLE, UCE, AND UACE TIMETABLE, 2023 pic.twitter.com/rLle7sO2RX
— Uganda National Examinations Board (@UNEB_UG) September 6, 2023