The figures were announced on Thursday by Dr. Bahati Bernard, Director General of the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA).
A total of 276,579 students from 3,895 schools across the country sat for the primary school leaving examinations. Boys accounted for 44.35% of the candidates, while girls made up 55.65%.
According to NESA, 87.1% of girls who sat the examinations passed, compared with 89.59% of boys.
At the ordinary level of secondary education, 149,015 students sat for the national examinations, with 85.70% passing. This was a significant increase from the 64% pass rate recorded in 2024/25.
Among girls, the pass rate was 82.62%, while 89.8% of boys passed.
Placement of students
NESA said 17,412 students who qualified to progress to the next level were allocated places in boarding schools, while more than 226,546 will attend day schools.
Among students progressing to Senior Four in general education, 18,944 will study in boarding schools, while 57,276 will attend day schools.
In technical and vocational education and training (TVET), 26,098 students were allocated places in boarding institutions, while 17,000 will attend day programmes.
Meanwhile, 7,497 students will pursue professional education as boarding students, while 148 will attend day programmes.
Minister of State for Education Irere Claudette said students who sat the national examinations at both levels performed well overall, with the number of candidates increasing by more than 50,000 compared with the previous year.
“When the number of students increases, and their performance also improves, it is only natural that this affects the allocation of students to different schools,” she said.
However, Irere condemned cases of cheating and collusion among candidates, saying anyone found to have been involved would face disciplinary action in line with national examination regulations.
“Cases of cheating and students helping one another to cheat were reported. Anyone found to have been involved will be punished in accordance with the regulations governing national examinations. For students suspected of cheating, we do not release their results immediately. Instead, we first conduct a thorough investigation,” she noted.
NESA Director General Dr Bahati Bernard said students recorded stronger performance this academic year compared with the previous year.
In the primary school leaving examinations, for example, he said more than 10,000 students scored between 30% and 40% in 2024. This year, that number fell to about 4,000.
The number of students scoring between 40% and 50% also declined, from more than 41,000 last year to about 27,000 this year, Bahati said.
He attributed the overall improvement in results to a rise in the number of students achieving higher scores, particularly those scoring above 50%.
“This year, the number of students scoring between 50% and 60%, as well as those scoring up to 90%, increased. This means that some of the students who were previously scoring below 50% moved into the above-50% range,” he said.
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