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By Spy Uganda
The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has warned school heads and directors against charging unauthorized fees in the name of UNEB registration, saying offenders risk heavy fines, imprisonment, deregistration, and loss of examination centre status.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo said the Board had introduced new measures to curb the growing cases of misappropriation of examination registration fees by some school administrators.
Under Section 33 of the UNEB Act, Cap 259, it is an offence for schools or individuals to charge fees not prescribed by UNEB and falsely present them as official UNEB charges.
Odongo warned that convicted offenders face severe penalties, including a fine of up to 2,000 currency points, equivalent to Shs40 million, imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both.
Additionally, those convicted will be required to refund all unauthorized charges collected from students or their sponsors.
“The Board will also withdraw the school’s examination centre status, and where the convicted person is a registered teacher, they shall be deregistered in accordance with the laws governing the teaching profession,” Odongo said.
He urged parents and guardians to report schools charging exorbitant or unauthorized registration fees to the nearest police station.
The warning follows several incidents in recent years where candidates nearly missed or completely failed to sit national examinations after school officials allegedly misappropriated registration funds.
In one such case, 45 UCE and UACE candidates at Green Stars High School in Wakiso reportedly risked missing examinations after their head teacher allegedly collected Shs5.4 million but failed to remit the money to UNEB. The school administrator was later charged with obtaining money by false pretence.
In another incident, 20 Primary Seven pupils at Bahrain Nursery and Primary School in Iganga reportedly failed to sit their Primary Leaving Examinations after money meant for their registration was allegedly misused by the school administration.
SMS Verification System Introduced
To strengthen transparency and help parents monitor the registration process, UNEB has introduced an SMS verification system for the 2026 national examinations.
The system will allow candidates, parents, and guardians to confirm the registration status and details of learners by sending an SMS to 6600 using the candidate’s full index number.
According to Odongo, the initiative is intended to help parents verify the correctness of information submitted by schools during registration.
This includes checking the spelling and arrangement of names, date of birth, gender, passport photograph, and subjects registered for by UCE and UACE candidates.
“The Board therefore urges parents and guardians of candidates to take keen interest in the registration of their children and verify the correctness of the information provided,” Odongo said.
Registration Extended
UNEB also announced the extension of normal registration for the 2026 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) to June 30, 2026.
The extension, according to the Board, is intended to allow newly accredited examination centres sufficient time to register candidates.
Late registration will begin on July 1 and close on July 31, 2026.
Candidates registering late will attract surcharges of 100 percent for PLE and 50 percent for UCE and UACE.
UNEB warned that no further registration will be accepted after July 31.
The Board also clarified the official registration fees for privately sponsored candidates. PLE candidates will pay Shs34,000, UCE candidates Shs164,000, while UACE candidates will pay Shs186,000.
Government-sponsored candidates under the Universal Primary Education (UPE), Universal Secondary Education (USE), and Universal Post O-Level Education and Training (UPOLET) programs will continue to have their registration fees paid by government.
UNEB further reminded schools that candidate registers must be displayed on school notice boards at least 60 days before the commencement of national examinations, as required by law.
The Board emphasized that strict action will continue to be taken against schools and administrators found exploiting parents or mishandling examination registration funds.
, https://www.spyuganda.com/uneb-warns-school-heads-against-illegal-examination-charges-introduces-sms-verification-system/
