UNEB Inaugurates 12th Board: First Lady Tasks Team with Exam Integrity

The Ministry of Education and Sports has officially inaugurated the 13-member governing board for the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB). In a ceremony held at Hotel Eliana, the First Lady and Minister of Education, Mama Janet Museveni, tasked the new board with the heavy responsibility of safeguarding the credibility of national assessments amidst a changing curriculum.

The board will once again be chaired by Prof. Celestino Obua, who returns for a second term. Prof. Obua, a former Vice-Chancellor of Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), is widely credited with overseeing the successful rollout of the Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) under the new lower secondary curriculum.

In a speech delivered on her behalf by the Minister of State for Higher Education, Dr. John Chrysostom Muyingo, the First Lady emphasized that examination malpractice remains a “cancer” that threatens the quality of Uganda’s human capital. “The credibility of UNEB directly shapes public trust in our entire education system,” she said. “We must have zero tolerance for those who seek to provide shortcuts to our learners.”

The 12th Board faces immediate challenges, including the release of the 2025 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) results, which are expected later this week. Furthermore, the board is tasked with managing the digital transition of UNEB, including the expansion of e-registration and the printing of personalized result slips with enhanced security features.

Executive Director Dan Odongo reminded the new members to remain vigilant against “undue influence.” With the education sector pivoting toward vocational and skills-based learning, the new board’s role in refining assessment tools will be critical in determining whether the new curriculum truly prepares Ugandan youth for the global job market.