National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) has published the written national exams timetable for the 2024-2025 school year, with examinations scheduled between June and July. The Primary Leaving Examinations will be conducted from June 30 to July 3, according to NESA. ALSO READ: Over 60,000 candidates sit for national practical exams The Ordinary Level national examinations are scheduled from July 9 to July 16, aligning with the dates for Advanced Level candidates in general education and accounting. For students in Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs), Advanced Level examinations will take place from July 9 to July 18. The Associate Nursing Programme exams are planned from July 9 to July 17, coinciding with examinations in technical secondary schools. ALSO READ: Five key highlights from the 2023/24 S6 national exam results The written exams will follow the practical examinations, which began on May 19 and are due to conclude on June 6, involving the accounting, nursing, science, and technical students. Nationwide, a total of 471,009 candidates in Primary 6, Senior 3, and Senior 6 have registered to sit the national exams, according to the Ministry of Education. A look back at 2023-2024 exams For the 2023-2024 academic year, the overall pass rate in national exams declined in comparison to previous years. NESA reported that the pass rate for Advanced Level candidates, encompassing general education, technical secondary schools and TTCs was 78.6 per cent in 2023-2024. ALSO READ: Why accounting, nursing and teaching students have to take practical exams General education recorded 67.5 per cent pass rate, down from 95 per cent in the previous year. In technical secondary schools, the rate was 96.1 percent, compared to 97.65 per cent last year. For professional education, the figure was 98.1 per cent, slightly lower than the previous 99.7 per cent. “Last year’s candidates who did not score at least 50 per cent have returned to school, something that was not common before. There are centers supporting private candidates,” Bernard Bahati, the Director General of NESA, told Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) while commenting on last year’s drop in pass rates. He added that the school feeding programme alongside other initiative's is helping to reduce the school dropouts.
