The Director General of the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA), Dr. Bahati Bernard, said 88.21 percent of pupils who sat for the Primary Leaving National Examination passed, compared with 75.6 percent in the 2024/25 academic year.
Among female candidates, the pass rate stood at 87.1 percent, while male candidates recorded a higher pass rate of 89.59 percent.
A total of 276,579 pupils from 3,895 schools sat for the Primary Leaving National Examination. Girls accounted for 55.65 percent of the candidates, while boys represented 44.35 percent.
At the Ordinary Level, 149,015 students sat for the national examinations, with an overall pass rate of 85.70 percent, up from 64 percent recorded in the previous academic year.
Female students recorded a pass rate of 82.62 percent, while male students achieved 89.8 percent.
The improved performance has also increased the number of students requiring placement in secondary schools and technical and vocational education institutions.
State Minister of Education Claudette Irere said the overall performance in both examination categories had improved significantly, with more than 50,000 additional students succeeding compared with the previous year.
“When the number of students and the number of those passing both increase, it naturally has an impact on determining the schools where students will be placed,” she said.
However, Irere warned against examination malpractice, saying cases of cheating and assisting others to cheat had been identified.
She said all those found responsible would face punishment in accordance with regulations governing national examinations.
“Cases of cheating and helping others to cheat were identified, and everyone involved will be punished according to the regulations governing national examinations. Students suspected of cheating will not receive their results today until thorough investigations have been completed,” she said.
Dr. Bahati said the improved results were also reflected in the distribution of students across different score ranges.
In the previous year, more than 10,000 primary school candidates scored between 30 and 40 percent, but the number fell to about 4,000 this year.
Similarly, the number of candidates scoring between 40 and 50 percent dropped from more than 41,000 last year to about 27,000 this year.
Meanwhile, the number of students scoring above 50 percent increased across higher score categories.
“This means that many students who were previously in the below-50-percent category have moved above 50 percent,” Dr. Bahati said.
