Rwanda’s secondary school national examination pass rate climbed to 94.33% in the 2025/26 academic year, up from 89.1% the previous year, according to results released by the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA).
The results, announced Friday, show a 5.23 percentage-point increase in the proportion of students who met the required pass mark.
NESA Director General Dr Bahati Bernard said 108,732 students registered for the examinations, of whom 108,406 sat for the tests. A total of 102,261 students, or 94.33%, passed.
Girls accounted for 55.05% of registered candidates, compared with 44.95% boys. However, boys recorded a higher pass rate at 95.94%, while 93.02% of girls passed.
The latest results mark a significant improvement from 2024/25, when 89.1% of the 106,078 students who sat the examinations passed.
NESA reported that 48.98% of candidates scored 70% or above, while 5.63% scored below 50%.
Performance by subject combination
In General Education, humanities students recorded the highest pass rate at 95.86%, followed by science students at 93.87% and languages at 93.61%.
In technical and vocational education, 42,793 students sat the national examinations, with 94.55% meeting the pass requirements. About 5.36% did not attain the required marks.
Top performers
Manzi Nshuti Kabanda Brave, who studied Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology (MCB) at Petit Séminaire Saint Aloys in Rusizi District, emerged as the country’s top-performing student with a score of 98.40%.
Umwali Deborah, who studied History, Literature and Geography (HLP) at Cornerstone Leadership Academy in Rwamagana District, ranked second with 97.52%.
Irakoze Pacome, a Social Studies student at TTC Rubengera in Karongi District, placed third with 95.93%.
Umukundwa Herniette, who studied professional accounting at ACEJ Karama in Muhanga District, ranked fourth with 95.23%.
Umunyurwa Karangwa Naomie, who studied arts and crafts at École d’Art de Nyundo in Rubavu District, completed the top five with 94.74%.
The results represent a marked improvement in national secondary school performance, with the overall pass rate rising by more than five percentage points in one academic year.
