Eight inmates from Ndorwa Government Prison are among 3,887 candidates sitting the 2026 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) in Kabale District, continuing a four-year arrangement that allows incarcerated learners to pursue their education.

The inmates are sitting their examinations at Kikungiri Primary School in Southern Division, Kabale Municipality, alongside other registered candidates.

The school's head teacher, Phabis Twasingwiire, said the institution had registered 84 candidates, of whom 83 reported for the examinations.

One female candidate missed the first examination paper, with Twasingwiire saying her parents had earlier informed the school that she had escaped from home.

She said inmates from Ndorwa Government Prison have been sitting their PLE examinations at the school for the past four consecutive years, adding that previous candidates had registered good grades despite their incarceration.

Twasingwiire expressed confidence that this year's inmates would maintain the record, noting that the school had completed syllabus coverage and conducted intensive revision to prepare all candidates for the examinations.

Kabale District Principal Inspector of Schools Wilberforce Nabaasa said the district had registered 3,887 candidates at 85 examination centres.

Meanwhile, the 2026 PLE examinations started smoothly across much of the country, with Mathematics as the first paper.

Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) spokesperson Jennifer Kalule Musamba said the distribution of examination materials had proceeded on schedule, particularly in Kampala and Wakiso, with favourable weather supporting the exercise.

However, she urged invigilators, scouts and other examination officials to remain vigilant against examination malpractice, saying safeguarding the credibility of the examinations remained a priority.

The warning comes amid heightened scrutiny of the examinations following the arrest of several people in the weeks leading up to the exercise over allegations of selling or possessing materials they claimed were examination papers.