The Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) officially released the 2025 UCE Results on Friday, February 13, 2026. According to the board’s report, achievement levels in the 2025 examinations have improved significantly compared to the 2024 academic year. During the ceremony at State Lodge Nakasero, officials highlighted a remarkable upward trend in candidate performance across the country.
Initially, the executive director of UNEB, Mr. Dan Odongo, shared that 428,628 candidates qualified for the UCE certificate. This represents a staggering 99.69 percent of the total students who sat for the exams. Consequently, the percentage of students failing to qualify dropped from 1.9 percent in 2024 to just 0.31 percent in the 2025 UCE Results. These successful students will see “Result 1” on their official transcripts and certificates.
However, those who did not qualify fall into two specific categories. Specifically, Result 2 applies to candidates who failed to fulfill all award conditions, such as missing a project score or sitting for too few subjects. Meanwhile, Result 3 represents candidates who scored below the basic level (E) in all subjects. Despite these categories, the vast majority of the 432,163 registered students demonstrated high achievement levels.
Interestingly, the 2025 UCE Results provide a detailed breakdown of gender-based performance. Female candidates demonstrated higher achievement levels in English Language and Christian Religious Education. On the other hand, male candidates maintained slightly higher proportions in the “exceptional” and “outstanding” levels for subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Overall, the total number of female candidates reached 227,871, outnumbering the 204,292 male candidates.
Furthermore, the 2025 UCE Results brought inspiring news from the country’s correctional facilities. For instance, at the Uganda Government Upper Prison School in Luzira, all 39 inmates who sat for the exams qualified for the certificate. Similarly, at Mbarara Main Prison Inmates’ Secondary School, every one of the 12 registered candidates successfully qualified. These results underscore the effectiveness of educational rehabilitation programs within the prison system.
Additionally, the total candidature saw an increase of 20.2 percent from the previous year. This growth indicates a rising demand for secondary education in Uganda. While the Universal Secondary Education (USE) program supported 35.8 percent of these students, the majority remained non-USE beneficiaries. Along with the higher pass rate, UNEB noted that absenteeism continued to drop, with only 0.5 percent of students missing their exams. Ultimately, the 2025 UCE Results mark a historic milestone for Uganda’s education sector, reflecting both increased enrollment and better academic outcomes.
