KAMPALA, Uganda (UGNEWSLINE) — Students registered for Uganda’s national end-of-cycle examinations must be allowed to sit their papers even if they have outstanding school fees, the Ministry of Education and Sports has directed, warning schools against denying candidates the opportunity to take their examinations over unpaid dues.
The directive, issued on October 13, 2026, by the Ministry, seeks to protect candidates from having their academic progress disrupted by financial difficulties and places responsibility on school administrators to recover outstanding fees without preventing learners from completing their examinations.
In a statement signed by ministry spokesperson Dr Dennis K. Mugimba, the Acting Minister of Education and Sports J. C. Muyingo directed that all candidates registered with the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) be permitted to sit their end-of-cycle examinations regardless of whether they have cleared tuition fees or other charges owed to their respective schools.
The ministry said it had received reports that some schools were denying registered candidates access to examinations because of outstanding payments, prompting the intervention under the Education (Pre-Primary, Primary and Post-Primary) Act, 2008.
The law empowers the minister responsible for education to ensure that national education policies are implemented and to introduce reforms where necessary.
The ministry said the directive was issued in exercise of those responsibilities.
Under the new instructions, schools that allow candidates to sit examinations before clearing their fees must formally notify UNEB of the affected learners.
The examination body can then withhold the results of candidates whose outstanding balances have not been settled, pending further communication from their schools.
Headteachers will also be required to notify UNEB when the outstanding fees have been paid and the withheld results can be released.
The ministry has further clarified that candidates who are permitted to sit examinations before clearing their dues should not face additional penalties or charges simply because they were allowed to take the papers before settling their outstanding balances.
The directive therefore seeks to separate a learner’s right to complete an examination from a school’s obligation to collect fees, while retaining a mechanism through which schools can pursue unpaid balances.
The decision is expected to draw attention from parents, school proprietors and education administrators, particularly as schools prepare candidates for examinations that can determine their transition to the next stage of education.
For many families struggling to meet the cost of schooling, the directive offers reassurance that financial difficulties should not automatically prevent children from taking examinations for which they have registered.
The ministry has circulated the instructions to the media, members of the public, school owners, foundation bodies, chairpersons of school management committees, boards of governors, headteachers, government education administrators and the executive director of UNEB.
The intervention reinforces the government’s responsibility to safeguard access to education while requiring schools and examination authorities to follow established procedures in handling outstanding fees and withheld results.
The ministry urged all concerned stakeholders to take note of and comply with the directive, which takes effect as an official instruction to schools and education administrators.
