Uganda National Examinations Board is investigating the decrease in the number of candidates in the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Examinations (UACE) cycles.
The examinations body says it has recorded a significant decline in the number of candidates who registered for UCE and UACE while there was a huge increase in the number of Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) candidates.
At UCE, a decline of 3,808 candidates was reported while at UACE the figure stood at 4,907. However, at PLE, a 7.8 percent increase was recorded bringing the number of candidates to 749,811 this year compared to 695,700 in 2019. Jennifer Kalule Musamba, the UNEB Senior Public Relations Officer, says that they are worried about the decline in the number of registered candidates.
Education officials that we spoke to however attributed the decline in the numbers of candidates to failure by many students to return to school. Fredrick Kiyingi, the Wakiso District Education Officer who doubles as the chairperson of the DEOs Association, says that many learners failed to resume studies after the COVID-19 lockdown. 
