Seven Gulu students miss UCE exams over imprisonment, pregnancy

At least seven students from two secondary schools in Gulu city have missed the 2026 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations, which began today, Monday.

The seven students are among 3,554 candidates registered to sit the examinations in Gulu City. According to education officials, five of the absentee candidates were registered at Charity College Gulu, a private secondary school, while the other two were enrolled at Gulu Army Senior Secondary School, a government-aided institution.

Jerose Adoch, deputy headteacher of Charity College Gulu, said five registered candidates had failed to turn up for the examinations.

Adoch said the school’s inquiries established that one student was serving a prison sentence for offences committed outside the school, while another was undergoing rehabilitation for drug abuse.

Another student had misused money intended to pay school fees, while two others failed to report for the examinations for reasons that remained unclear. Attempts to reach their parents were unsuccessful, she said.

Adoch added that although about a quarter of the school’s candidates had outstanding fees by Monday morning, management had not barred any student from sitting the examinations over unpaid fees.

In an earlier interview, she said the school had negotiated alternative arrangements with parents to clear fee arrears, including immediate cash payments or contributions in kind through livestock or labour provided by parents or students.

Adoch on alternative fees payments

Richard Kibwota Okidi, the senior education officer and acting Gulu city education officer, confirmed that two candidates had also missed the examinations at Gulu Army Senior Secondary School.

Okidi said one of the candidates, a female student, had become pregnant and failed to report for the examinations despite being asked to attend.

The other candidate, a male student, had dropped out of school, and his whereabouts remained unknown, he said. Despite the absenteeism, Okidi said the examinations had commenced smoothly, with all examination centres opening on time and no major incidents reported.

Gulu City has 37 secondary schools participating in the UCE examinations, comprising seven government-aided and 30 private institutions.

The government-aided schools include St Joseph’s College Layibi, Sacred Heart Secondary School, Gulu High Senior Secondary School, Gulu Army Senior Secondary School, Sir Samuel Baker Secondary School and Pece Senior Secondary School.

According to the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), a total of 503,214 candidates registered for the 2026 UCE examinations, representing a 16.4 per cent increase from the 432,163 candidates registered in 2025.

The post Seven Gulu students miss UCE exams over imprisonment, pregnancy appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.