The Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, has directed the Directorate of Education and Standards to fully leverage technology to improve teacher attendance and classroom teaching, emphasizing the government’s commitment to quality education.
Speaking at the official release of the 2025 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) results at State House Nakasero on Friday, Janet Museveni called for vigilance against teacher absenteeism, noting that public funds must translate into tangible learning outcomes.
“Teachers who receive salaries from public funds but remain absent from duty compromise the quality of education,” she said. “I am therefore directing the Directorate of Education and Standards to fully utilize the government’s investment in technology to monitor teacher attendance and teaching in classrooms.”
The Minister highlighted the importance of accountability, especially in schools where ungraded candidates remain high despite the presence of a headteacher, teachers, an inspector of schools, and a district education officer.
She also expressed concern over some unprofessional practices during examinations, including posting invigilators to their own schools, failing to assign enough invigilators, and irregular registration of private candidates as UTE candidates.
She also addressed the proliferation of private examination bureaus, emphasizing that learning should focus on acquiring knowledge and competencies, not just passing exams. She tasked the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Sports with identifying and closing operational loopholes in these bureaus using existing legal frameworks.
The Minister praised the shared responsibility of national examination management between the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) and local governments and urged local authorities to budget and plan for examination administration independently.
She also acknowledged the critical role of security forces, parents, teachers, and school staff in safeguarding the integrity of the examination process.
Reflecting on the achievements of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) program, which was established 30 years ago by the NRM government, She said it has enabled hundreds of thousands of children to complete primary education without paying school fees. She reaffirmed the government’s commitment to expanding free primary education, ensuring all children have a strong foundation for future learning.
The Minister also observed a moment of silence in honor of the late Honorable Geraldine Kamazilo, a former Minister of Education and UPE, asking attendees to pray for her soul.
Highlighting key achievements in the 2025 PLE results, she noted an increase in the number of children completing the primary cycle and a reduction in dropout rates. She expressed satisfaction with girls’ performance while noting the need to address declining male completion rates. Progress in special education was also applauded, with children with special needs performing on par with their peers when provided the right learning environment.
She commended the Uganda Prisons Service for enabling inmates to pursue education, emphasizing its role in rehabilitation and reintegration. She also highlighted the government’s investment in secondary education, noting that the Uplift program has constructed 204 new state secondary schools, with 55 more under construction.
With the enactment of the VAT Act 2025, Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been formally integrated into the education system. Uganda now has 42 community polytechnics and over 100 private ones to absorb learners from Primary 7, offering three-year programs leading to certificates equivalent to O-level completion.
The Minister encouraged learners to aim for mastery of foundational knowledge, even if it means repeating Primary 7, and praised UNEB for emphasizing competency-based learning in PLE assessments.
She reminded schools and media outlets to respect the Public Data Protection and Privacy Act (Cap 97) by safeguarding learners’ identities when sharing examination outcomes.
The 2026 Senior One selection exercise is scheduled for 12th and 13th February, with the first term beginning on 2nd March 2026.
A total of 817,883 candidates from 15,388 examination centres sat the 2025 PLE, compared to 797,444 candidates in 2024. Of these, 522,036 (63.8%) were UPE beneficiaries, while 295,847 (36.2%) were non-UPE candidates.
