PLE, O-Level results: Girls outperform boys in national exams
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Minister of Education Gaspard Twagirayezu during the press conference while releasing National Exams results on Tuesday, September 12 . PHOTO BY DAN GATSINZI

The Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) has released results for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) and Ordinary Level (O-Level) for candidates who did national examinations for the academic year 2022-2023.

According to the results announced on Tuesday, September 12th, out of a total of 201,679 students who took the national exams, 91.09 per cent passed. Among the successful candidates, 55.29 per cent were girls and 44.71 per cent were boys.

The pass rate for this year's PLE is higher than that of the past four years. In 2022 the pass rate was 90.6, in 2021 it was 82.8 per cent and in 2018 it was 81.1 per cent, and 81.6 per cent in 2019.

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Results from the O-Level exams show that 86.97 per cent of the 131,602 candidates who took the exams successfully passed. Of the successful candidates, 54.28 per cent were girls and 45.7 were boys.

The numbers have slightly increased compared to last year’s results.

Last year’s O-Level pass rate was at 85.66 per cent.

During his media address, Minister of Education Gaspard Twagirayezu warned against informal placement, highlighting that the placement carried out by the National Examination and School Inspection (NESA) aims to ensure equal opportunities for all students.

"No one is allowed to use their influence in school placement, as there is a formal appeals process that is both permitted and encouraged for everyone to use,” he said.

Twagirayezu mentioned that the government intends to improve the B-tech programme in the next academic year. This initiative will allow students in technical schools to pursue a Bachelor's degree instead of the previous diploma qualification.

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"The government has set a target of achieving a 60 per cent TVET enrolment rate by 2024. In order to support students in reaching this goal, we are enhancing the B-Tech programme,” he added.

The minister also announced that all candidates will begin the new academic year on September 25, aligning with other students. He stressed that this change aims to eliminate the previous delays, stating that this schedule will allow students and parents ample time to make necessary preparations.

Bernard Bahati, Director General of NESA, noted that the aggregate score for primary students is 26 out of 54 for girls and 25 out of 54 for boys. The score for students enrolling in Senior One is 17 out of 30, for boys and girls.

Bahati noted that there are no fixed aggregates, adding that every year the numbers continue to change.