Joseph Opule HM katakwi High School on Kawunda Suit interacting with Okiror HM Usuk SS-Photo By Emmanuel Olinga

Katakwi District has announced its readiness to begin writing the final Uganda National Examinations Board examination, with a total of 1,157 candidates scheduled to sit for the UCE examination across 15 secondary schools.

On Thursday, October 8, 2026, Katakwi held a briefing for UCE candidates prior to examinations on Monday, October 12, 2026, as part of the UNEB examination cycles running from October to December 2026, and as a routine exercise, Katakwi conducted a survey and inspection of centers to conduct the exercise.

Joseph Opule, area supervisor of Katakwi District, underlined that the turnout of candidates for briefing on Thursday, October 8, 2026, was good, with only about 17 candidates unavailable during the briefing day, and he believes few students will miss examinations on Monday.

He also stated that during the briefing and assessment, the district established readiness, determined the number of candidates, and considered special needs candidates with an additional 45 minutes; however, he noted that school readiness on UCE examinations in most schools visited well, with the exception of one private school in the onset where security and area supervisors were denied access to the school.

Meanwhile, he stated that the district has recorded 1,157 candidates,, citing that in Katakwi station 124 comprises eight schools: Usuk SS with a seating capacity of 76 candidates, Katakwi High School with 97 candidates, St Stephen SS with 110 candidates, St. Pual Comprehensive with 109 candidates, Standard Secondary School with 10 candidates, Priscilla Girls Comprehensive Girls' School with 239 candidates, Ongogonja Secondary School with 21 candidates, and Onset Secondary School with 110 candidates.

In Substation 449 under Ngariam comprises two schools, such as Palam Seed School with 27 candidates and Ngariam Seed School with 16 candidates. On the other side, substation 346, which is Toroma with five schools, comprises Kapujan Community SS with 54 candidates, Toroma SS with 56 candidates, Toroma Peas Secondary School with 87 candidates, Toroma Seed SS with 73 candidates, and Magoro Comprehensive SS with 70 registered candidates.

According to Joseph Opule, Area Supervisor of Katakwi District, they have assets at every seating center in the district, with the key being asserting the readiness for examinations per center, assessing seating capacity, and overcoming challenges so that students can sit comfortably in examinations.

The examinations that have begun with the briefing of UCE candidates on October 8 and end with the UACE examinations on December 5. PLE candidates will be briefed on October 30, while UACE candidates will begin with a briefing on November 7. UCE examinations will run until November 3, followed by PLE examinations, which will end on November 4.

However, Opule highlighted that most schools are facing the challenge of examination halls because of the large number of students, while other schools are struggling with the challenges notable sub-stations have to transport the examinations from storage centers as schools face the challenge of meeting the high fuel prices.

This year’s candidature represents an increase of 211,437 candidates, or 14.9 percent, compared with the 1,416,448 candidates registered in 2025. Females account for 52 percent of the total candidature, while males make up 48 percent. The government is sponsoring 52 percent of the candidates under the Universal Education programs at primary and secondary levels, while 6,090 candidates are registered as learners with special educational needs.

PLE candidature has increased by 12.4 percent, from 818,885 candidates in 2025 to 920,796 this year. UCE candidature has risen by 16.4 percent, from 432,165 to 503,214, while UACE has recorded the sharpest increase of 22.5 percent, from 166,400 to 203,875 candidates.


However, Opule concluded by warning school administrators and candidates to stay out of any attempts of examination malpractice, noting that the private school of onset denied supervisors during briefing to access the school to assess readiness and another impediment that could be addressed before candidates' seats for examinations on Monday, 12 October 2026, which he cites sheds light on examination malpractice, which is a violation of UNEB guidelines.