The Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB) has officially released the 2025 results for the Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) and Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) exams, reporting impressive pass rates of 87.50% and 77.61%, respectively.

At a news conference held in Lilongwe, MANEB Executive Director Professor Dorothy Nampota confirmed the integrity of the examination process. 

“I am proud to report that the 2025 PSLCE and JCE examinations were administered without a single leakage," she stated. “The credibility of these results is therefore unquestionable and marks a notable improvement over last year’s performance."

Professor Nampota revealed that 247,958 candidates sat for the PSLCE exam, with 216,972 passing, resulting in the 87.50% pass rate. 

The JCE exam saw 122,977 out of 158,451 candidates pass, achieving the 77.61% success rate. 

This year's combined performance represents a marked 6.41% improvement over the 2024 results.

A gender breakdown showed a disparity in outcomes. For the JCE, male candidates achieved an 81.98% pass rate, while female candidates achieved 73.49%. A similar trend was observed in the PSLCE results.

MANEB Board Chairperson Samson Sajidu expressed his satisfaction with the collaborative effort that led to the exams' success.

The announcement also covered the critical next step for students. Grace Milner, the Director for Basic and Secondary Education, announced that of the successful candidates, 103,261 have been selected to begin Form One. 

“This gives us a national transition rate to public secondary schools of 47.59%, which is an increase from the 44.96% rate of the previous year," Milner said. 

While praising the results, she also indicated that the Ministry would investigate the reasons behind the underperformance of certain schools.

Education expert Lexon Ndalama called for continued investment in the education sector, noting that “to consolidate these gains and tackle the remaining failure rate, we must urgently focus on recruiting and training higher-quality teachers for our classrooms."