The Executive Director Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) Dan Odongo, has revealed that female candidates performed better than their male counterparts, in last year’s Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations.
“Proportionally, female candidates outperformed their male counterparts at the principal level pass (A–E) in most Humanities subjects, as well as in Mathematics, Physics, General Paper, Subsidiary Mathematics, and Subsidiary ICT” he said.
However, Odongo noted that at the top level of A passes, male candidates scored higher than females in Mathematics and Sciences.
“Female entries in Sciences and Mathematics remain lower than those of males, reflecting the overall trend of fewer female candidates compared to males” he said.
Mr Odongo made the remarks during the official release of the 2025 UACE results, by First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports Hon. Janet Kataha Museveni at State House Nakasero on Friday.
Odongo further noted that subject clustering remains gendered, with a higher concentration of female candidates in the Humanities than in the Sciences.
Mr Odongo further revealed that eventhough cases of malpractice remained low, results for a total of 351 candidates have been withheld over examination malpractice.
“Malpractice cases were reported from 47 out of the 2,452 examination centres, involving 351 candidates (0.2% of the total). The cases mainly relate to receiving assistance in Science Practical papers, possession of unauthorized materials, and impersonation” he said.
Mr Odongo noted that the UNEB board is proceeding with the hearing of PLE cases and will commence hearings for UCE cases from 16th March 2026.
The UNEB Chairperson Prof Celestino Obua, revealed that there was an increase in the number of candidates that sat for last years exams with a total of 166,400 candidates registered, compared to 141,996 candidates in 2024, representing an increase of 24,404 candidates (17.2%).
He noted that of those registered, 72,764 (43.7%) were females and 93,636 (56.3%) were males.
“The Board continues to observe sustained growth in candidature at the UACE level, reflecting expanded access to post-O’ Level education and growing public confidence in the credibility of national assessments” he said.
Obua noted that a total of 540 Special Needs Education (SNE) candidates (274 males and 266 females) registered for the 2025 UACE examination, compared to 437 candidates (249 males and 188 females) in 2024.
