The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has officially released the 2025 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) results, showing an increase in candidate numbers and improved performance at the top level.
A total of 817,883 pupils from 15,388 examination centres registered for the 2025 PLE, up from 797,444 candidates in 2024. Of these, 522,036 candidates (63.8 per cent) from 11,525 centres were beneficiaries of Universal Primary Education (UPE), while 295,847 candidates (36.2 per cent) from 3,863 centres were non-UPE pupils.
UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo said the 2025 results registered a higher number of candidates passing in Division One compared to last year. He noted that boys generally performed better than girls and recorded a lower failure rate.
Subject performance showed English as the best done subject, followed by Integrated Science and Mathematics. Social Studies with Religious Education (SST) recorded the weakest performance. Compared to 2024, performance in English improved, while SST registered a notable decline.
UNEB also released results from prison-based schools. At Uganda Government Upper Prison School in Luzira, 61 candidates were registered, compared to 71 in 2024. Of these, 58 candidates sat the examination while three were absent. The results show that four candidates passed in Division One, 27 in Division Two, 13 in Division Three, five in Division Four, and nine candidates were ungraded.
At Mbarara Main Prison Inmates Primary School, 40 candidates were registered, with 39 sitting the examinations and one absent. Seven candidates attained Division One, 15 Division Two, 10 Division Three, five Division Four, and two candidates were ungraded.
Odongo raised concern over increasing cases of examination malpractice, describing them as more open and worrying. He revealed that in some instances, invigilators and scouts were bribed or intimidated by school proprietors and headteachers to allow teachers to assist candidates during examinations.
Most of the results withheld this year are from districts including Kisoro, Kampala, Mukono, Namutumba, Kassanda, Buyende and Kaliro, among others.
According to the national education calendar, students joining Senior One are expected to report for their first term on February 16.
How to check PLE results
Parents and guardians can access the results using a mobile phone by following these steps:
- Open the Messages menu
- Type PLE
- Leave a space
- Enter the candidate’s full index number
- Send to 6600 on either MTN or Airtel
