The Uganda National Examinations Board has announced an improvement in performance in the 2025 Uganda Certificate of Education examinations, with 99.69% of candidates qualifying for the award of the UCE certificate.

Releasing the results today at Nakasero State House, UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo said the 2025 cohort registered the strongest outcome since the rollout of the Competency Based Curriculum.

“A total of 428,628 candidates representing 99.69 percent of those who sat have qualified for the UCE certificate. This will be reflected on both the transcript and the certificate as Result 1,” Odongo said.

According to UNEB data, 432,163 candidates from 3,975 examination centres registered for the 2025 examinations, compared to 359,417 in 2024, marking an increase of 72,746 candidates, equivalent to 20.2 percent growth.

Of the registered candidates, 204,292 were male, representing 47.3 percent, while 227,871 were female, representing 52.7 percent. Beneficiaries of the Universal Secondary Education programme accounted for 154,642 candidates or 35.8 percent, while 277,521 candidates representing 64.2 percent were non-USE.

A total of 429,949 candidates sat the examinations, translating into 99.5 percent attendance. Only 2,214 candidates were absent, representing 0.5 percent. In 2024, 357,120 candidates sat the examination.

“As observed in 2024, the rate of absenteeism continues to decline, reflecting improved candidate participation and retention,” Odongo noted.

Performance analysis released by UNEB shows a marked improvement compared to 2024. In 2025, 428,628 candidates attained Result 1, while 1,191 candidates recorded Result 2, and 130 recorded Result 3. Only 0.31 percent did not qualify for the certificate, a significant drop from 1.9 percent in 2024.

“The percentage of candidates who did not qualify for the UCE certificate has declined significantly from 1.9 percent in 2024 to just 0.31 percent in 2025,” Odongo said. “Result 2 and Result 3 indicate that a candidate did not fulfil all conditions for the award, such as missing project scores, sitting fewer subjects than required, or lacking Continuous Assessment scores.”

Under the Competency Based Curriculum framework, candidate achievement levels are graded A to E. UNEB explained that results are derived from a combined assessment approach, with Continuous Assessment contributing 20 percent and the End of Cycle Examination contributing 80 percent.

“The achievement levels are determined through systematic statistical and psychometric analysis to ensure fairness and objectivity,” Odongo explained.

Special Needs Education candidates were also accommodated extensively. A total of 708 candidates registered, comprising 342 males and 366 females. These included 27 blind candidates, 116 with low vision, 60 deaf, 90 dyslexic, 72 physically handicapped, and 343 with other disabilities requiring extra time, including those with sickle cell anaemia, epilepsy, and accident-related conditions.

Only four Special Needs candidates were absent.

UNEB said comprehensive arrangements were made to ensure fairness, including Braille question papers, sign language interpreters, enlarged print papers, support personnel, and an additional 45 minutes per paper.

Cases of examination malpractice remained minimal, with 63 cases reported, largely in Mathematics and practical papers in Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

“In a few instances, there was overwhelming evidence that some candidates were provided with experimental results by teachers, which they merely copied,” Odongo said.

He added, “Under the Competency-Based Assessment framework, candidates must design and conduct investigations. Where the investigation design did not correspond with the recorded results, malpractice was evident.”

UNEB Chairperson Celestino Obua hailed the progress made in the second cohort under the Competency Based Curriculum.

“Whereas in 2024 UNEB was treading on new ground, the 2025 terrain proved far more familiar, with significantly improved institutional capacity. I sincerely commend the Executive Director and staff for their dedication and professionalism which has enabled the successful release of these results,” Prof Obua said.

He reiterated that the curriculum reform is yielding measurable benefits.

“The findings confirm that the Competency Based Curriculum is a strong and transformative reform, well positioned to produce the type of Ugandans needed to drive socio economic transformation,” he said.

According to the Board’s study, learners under the new curriculum demonstrate stronger research skills, improved creativity and innovation, better communication abilities and enhanced critical thinking and problem solving capacity.

“These outcomes affirm that the curriculum is strategic in shaping a competent and globally competitive generation,” Prof Obua added.

UNEB further announced that the Senior Five selection exercise will be conducted from February 18–19. Senior Five students are expected to report for the first term on Thursday, March 5, 2026.

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Busoga-The First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga has delivered one of the most political exclusives in recent memory after declaring that she personally forced through the appointment of Milly Babalanda as Deputy Resident District Commissioner despite her lacking the minimum academic qualifications.

Kadaga’s revelation comes at a time of open friction between the two leaders, following a controversial National Resistance Movement meeting in Iganga chaired by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni which Kadaga was not invited to.

Speaking with unmistakable resolve, the veteran Busoga power broker dismantled any notion that Babalanda’s rise was organic.

“You remember government consideration for RDC or deputy RDC, you must have an A’Level certificate. I looked around for a Musoga girl to recommend. I found Milly Babalanda. She had no Senior Six, no Senior Four, no certificate. I forged the recommendation because I lacked a qualified Musoga girl. That is how Babalanda became deputy RDC,” Kadaga revealed.

The statement, delivered without hesitation, reframes Babalanda’s political trajectory as one engineered by Kadaga at a time when she says the minister did not meet the threshold for appointment.

The timing of the disclosure is significant. On January 11, President Museveni openly questioned Kadaga’s absence from the Iganga NRM meeting.

“I spoke to my young sister Rebecca Kadaga and asked her whether she was coming for the meeting. She told me she was not invited,” Museveni said before party leaders.

He further revealed that he contacted Speaker Anita Annet Among to clarify the matter.

“She told me that all flag bearers were invited. I called her again and told her Kadaga said she was not invited. She asked me how they invited her,” Museveni recounted.

However, Kadaga insists the January 5 letter authored by NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong was never meant for her category.

In a detailed breakdown, she listed those invited to the meeting: all NRM city chairpersons, district chairpersons, municipality and city division chairpersons, town council chairpersons, parish and ward party leaders, LC1 chairpersons, sitting district LC5 chairpersons, city mayors, and other sitting local government leaders aligned to the NRM structures in Acholi, West Nile and Busoga.

“I am not a city chairperson. I am not a district chairperson. I am not a parish or ward chairperson. I am not among those categories. This letter was never intended for flag bearers. Therefore I was not invited,” Kadaga said.

She added, “It was addressed to district and city chairpersons, parish and ward leaders. I am not among those. This letter was never intended for flag bearers. I was not invited.”

But beyond the invitation dispute lies what appears to be a deeper political rupture.

Kadaga reminded Babalanda that she once publicly acknowledged the role she played in her rise.

“One day she hosted the President and confessed that had it not been Kadaga, you would not have seen me. She said it herself,” Kadaga revealed.

In a pointed caution that carried both political and personal weight, she added, “I want to request Milly Babalanda to calm down. The wars you want to start up, you may not manage them.”

Kadaga did not stop there. She questioned Babalanda’s command of the powerful Ministry for the Presidency, suggesting that key functions are handled by aides.

Kadaga revealed that there are things that are not about that but now that Babalanda has raised the head, she had to do so.

“Even the speeches and research she reads are written for her by Faruok Kirunda. It is Farouk that has been running the ministry. She reads word per word. If you ask her a question, she cannot respond,” she said, alleging that others are effectively running the ministry.

Another issue, Babalanda has a habit of blackmail, she got that position becausing of blackmailing Esther Mbayo, she blackmailed her until she was taken to another ministry., because Babalanda’s job is just to to come to the airport to wave at someone travelling and even another one returning then you make a line and kneel down, Kadaga further revealed.

The unfolding confrontation lays bare growing fractures within Busoga’s NRM leadership, a region long considered one of Kadaga’s strongest political bastions. At the Iganga meeting, Museveni urged unity, warning that internal battles were hurting ordinary citizens.

“What I advise you is that poor people need unity among leaders because you are delaying their exit from poverty by not working together,” the President cautioned.

Yet the latest escalation signals that reconciliation may not be imminent. What began as a dispute over invitations has now evolved into a full-blown political reckoning, with Kadaga asserting her historical influence and questioning the legitimacy of the very leader she says she elevated.

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Brussels/Kampala — February 12, 2026-The European Parliament has formally questioned the credibility of Uganda’s January 2026 elections and called for an independent investigation into alleged crimes against humanity in the country.
In a resolution passed on Wednesday, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) cited allegations of “abuses, widespread intimidation, electoral fraud, violence, and a nationwide internet blackout” as factors that undermined the integrity of the electoral process. The Parliament urged Ugandan authorities to permit impartial international oversight to ensure accountability.

“The European Parliament is deeply concerned about the conditions under which the January elections were conducted, which raise serious doubts about their legitimacy,” the resolution stated.
Observers and rights groups have documented numerous instances of political harassment, suppression of dissent, and restrictions on media and communication channels during the electoral period. The internet shutdown, in particular, was widely criticized for limiting access to information and obstructing transparency.

The European Parliament’s call aligns with mounting international concern over Uganda’s human rights record and the broader political climate. Lawmakers stressed that any credible democratic process must protect the freedoms of expression, assembly, and the press.
Ugandan authorities have not yet issued a response to the European Parliament’s demands, though past statements from the government have dismissed similar international criticisms as “interference in domestic affairs.”

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