The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has officially released the timetable for the 2024 national exams.
This year, UNEB will conduct four sets of examinations for the first time, including the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) based on the New Lower Secondary Curriculum (NLSC) and the transitional examination under the old curriculum.
The UCE exams will run until Friday, November 8, 2024, for the new curriculum candidates, while the transitional examination will conclude on Friday, November 15, 2024.
The Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) will take place from Monday, November 4, 2024, to Thursday, November 7, 2024.
For Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) candidates, the examinations will start on Friday, November 8, 2024, and end on Friday, December 6, 2024.
According to Dan Odongo, the UNEB Executive Secretary, 1,320,400 candidates have registered for the exams, a 7.8% increase from last year. Of these, 51.1% are females, and 48.9% are males.
“379,620 of the registered candidates are UCE candidates that include 369,477 for the NLSC and 10,143 for the transitional examination,” Odongo said.
He further noted that this year, UNEB has recorded a significant increase in candidature at UACE level with 142,017 candidates, compared to last year’s candidature of 110,579. This reflects an increase of 28.4%.
At PLE level, the increase stands at 6.6%, with a total of 798,763 candidates registered, compared to 749,371 in 2023.
Of the PLE candidature, 4,498 are Special Needs Education (SNE) learners, as compared to 3,698 candidates who registered last year.
The SNE candidates include 3,295 (PLE), 760, (UCE- NLSC), 38 (Transitional UCE- Old curriculum); and 405 (UACE).
Uganda Prisons (Luzira Upper and Mbarara Main) have registered 108 candidates (107 Male and 01 Female) for PLE; 39 for UCE (38 Male and 01 female)
In terms of funding, 698,808 (53%) of the total candidature are funded by the government under the Universal Education Programs, while 621,592 (47%) are privately sponsored.
NLSC Time Table:
The NLSC timetable features 36 subjects, focusing on End-of-Cycle (EoC) assessment (80%) and Continuous Assessment (CA) (20%). New subjects include Ugandan Sign Language (72 candidates) and Physical Education (15,000 candidates).
Assessment Modalities:
These include listening and speaking assessments for foreign languages (Latin, Arabic, and others), practical assessments for Nutrition and Food Technology, Technology and Design, and Performing Arts
UNEB has extended the deadline for submitting Continuous Assessment scores to October 30, 2024.
Heads of Centres must display candidates’ registers until October 10, 2024, and ensure project achievement and CA scores are submitted to UNEB before the deadline.
“Candidates without project work or CA scores in any subject shall not be graded,” Odongo emphasised.