The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has rolled out an extensive security operation to protect the 2026 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations, which commenced on Monday, November 9. More than 1,000 scouts have been stationed across the country alongside security and surveillance personnel to oversee the safe conduct of the exams.
Safeguarding Exam Integrity
According to UNEB, the deployment is aimed at protecting examination materials, curbing malpractice, and ensuring that candidates nationwide sit their papers under comparable conditions. Jennifer Kalule Musamba, the board's principal public relations officer, said the strengthened security arrangements are meant to preserve the credibility of the examinations and discourage anyone hoping to compromise the process.
"Over 1,000 scouts have been deployed by the board to oversee the safe conduct of the UACE examinations countrywide. We also have a number of security and surveillance operatives working along with the team to ensure the security of the examination," Musamba said in a statement issued as the exams began.
Record Candidate Numbers
This year's UACE examinations have attracted 203,809 registered candidates, a 22.4 percent rise from the 166,400 who sat last year. The candidates are spread across 3,039 examination centres nationwide. Of the total, 106,361 (52 percent) are male while 97,448 (48 percent) are female.
The registration also includes 41 inmates from Luzira Upper Prison Secondary School, sitting under examination centre U3120. Forty of these candidates are male and one is female.
The exams opened with science students tackling Principal Mathematics Paper One, while Arts candidates wrote History Paper One.
First Cohort Under New Curriculum
This year's group is the first cohort to have gone through the Competency-Based Assessment model at the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) level in 2024. Although the Advanced Level curriculum has not been fully overhauled, Musamba noted that the candidates have been studying under an aligned Competency-Based Curriculum guided by the National Curriculum Development Centre.
She added that UNEB has adjusted its assessment approach to match the curriculum changes. "Accordingly, the board has also aligned the assessment to reflect the same modification," she said.
The heightened security presence reflects growing pressure on examination bodies across the region to curb cheating and protect the value of national qualifications. With a larger candidate pool and a new assessment framework in play, UNEB says it is determined to deliver a fair and credible examination season.
