By Damali Mukhaye
More candidates who sat for the 2025 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations are eligible to join a university after attaining the required two principal passes.
Speaking at the release of the results at the State House lounge in Nakasero, the Executive Director of the Uganda National Examinations Board, Daniel Odongo, said 113,291 candidates, representing 68.6 percent of those who sat the exams, qualify for admission to university degree programmes.
Odongo explained that, up to now, university admissions to degree courses have required two principal-level passes as the minimum requirement. If this requirement is maintained, 113,291 candidates would qualify for admission, compared with 92,273 (65.5 percent) who qualified in 2024.
He said the increase is consistent with the significant rise in the number of candidates who registered for the 2025 examinations.
According to the results released by the Uganda National Examinations Board, a total of 166,400 candidates registered for the 2025 UACE examinations, compared to 141,996 in 2024, an increase of 24,404 candidates, representing 17.2 percent.
Of the registered candidates, 72,764, representing 43.7 percent, were females, while 93,636, representing 56.3 percent, were males. The number of examination centres also increased by 197, from 2,255 in 2024 to 2,452 in 2025, representing an 8.7 percent increase.
The number of candidates who eventually sat for the examination was 165,172, compared to 140,884 in 2024, reflecting an increase of 24,288 candidates, also equivalent to 17.2 percent.
Among those who sat the examinations, 72,374, representing 43.8 percent, were females, while 92,798, representing 56.2 percent, were males. At this level, the number of female candidates has consistently been lower than that of male candidates.
The number of candidates registered under the UPOLET programme stood at 42,327, representing 25.4 percent of the total candidature compared to 35,652 candidates, representing 25.1 percent, in 2024.
Male candidates registered under the UPOLET programme were 26,247, representing 15.8 percent of the total candidature, while female candidates were 15,733, representing 9.5 percent.
How Candidates Performed
Results further show that overall performance improved in 2025 compared to 2024, as measured by the number of candidates attaining principal passes. A total of 68,906 candidates, representing 41.7 percent, obtained three principal passes compared to 54,338 candidates, representing 38.6 percent, in 2024.
Another 44,385 candidates, representing 26.9 percent, obtained two principal passes, bringing the cumulative number of candidates who qualify for university admission to 113,291, representing 68.6 percent.
Candidates who obtained one principal pass were 31,838, representing 19.3 percent, while 18,152 candidates, representing 11 percent, obtained one subsidiary pass. A total of 1,891 candidates, representing 1.1 percent, failed the examinations. Overall, 98.9 percent of candidates qualified for the UACE certificate, as the current regulations require a candidate to obtain at least a subsidiary-level pass in a principal subject.
If the requirement of two principal passes for admission to degree programmes remains in place, universities will need an additional 21,018 spaces to accommodate the increased number of qualified candidates.
In cases where one principal pass and two subsidiary passes are considered for admission to other tertiary institutions, such as technical and vocational education and training institutions offering diploma programmes, 145,129 candidates representing 87.9 percent of the total candidature qualify for admission.
Female Candidates Outperform Males
Analysis of performance by gender shows that proportionally, female candidates performed better than their male counterparts. According to statistics released by the Uganda National Examinations Board, 32,291 female candidates, representing 44.6 percent, obtained three principal passes, compared with 36,615 male candidates, representing 39.5 percent.
A total of 20,393 female candidates, representing 28.2 percent, obtained two principal passes, compared to 23,992 male candidates, representing 25.8 percent. Female candidates also recorded lower failure rates, with only 590 candidates (0.8 percent) failing, compared to 1,301 male candidates (1.4 percent).
Despite the lower number of female candidates sitting the examinations, their performance at the upper levels was stronger compared to that of male candidates. Statistics also show that entries for mathematics and most science subjects have been steadily increasing over the last five years.
A total of 70,132 candidates registered for mathematics in 2025 compared to 58,495 in 2024. Chemistry entries increased to 37,134 from 29,283, while biology entries rose to 35,660 from 24,853.
However, entries for physics slightly declined to 21,302, down from 23,679 in 2024. Entries for female candidates in mathematics and science subjects have also been increasing steadily over the past five years, although they remain lower than those of male candidates. Education officials say the steady rise in science subject entries reflects increasing interest among learners in science-based programmes and careers.
Odongo noted that the improvement in overall performance and the rising number of candidates qualifying for higher education signal progress in the country’s education sector but also pose a challenge for universities and other tertiary institutions to expand their capacity to absorb the growing number of qualified students.
Inmates Excel
Performance of prison inmates who sat for the 2025 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education examinations also showed notable results, according to data released by the Uganda National Examinations Board.The candidates sat their examinations from Luzira Upper Prison, where both male and female inmates participated.
A total of 68 inmates sat the examination, the majority of whom were males. Male candidates accounted for 64 of those who sat, representing 94.1 percent, while only four candidates were female. Results indicate that 31 candidates obtained three principal passes. Of these, 30 were male, and 1 was female.
Another 15 candidates obtained two principal passes, including 14 males and one female. Sixteen candidates obtained one principal pass, of whom 15 were male, and one was female. Four candidates attained subsidiary passes, including three males and one female. Two candidates failed the examinations, and both were male. The results further show that two male candidates who had registered for the examinations did not sit for them. Overall, 66 candidates qualified for the UACE certificate, including 62 males and all four female candidates who sat the examinations.