Dar es Salaam. The National Examinations Council of Tanzania (NECTA) has released the 2025 Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results, showing a slight improvement in performance compared to last year.
Out of 1,146,164 candidates who sat the exam in September 2025, a total of 937,581 pupils, which is equivalent to 81.80 percent, passed by attaining grades A, B, and C. In 2024, the pass rate stood at 80.87 percent, marking an increase of 0.93 percentage points.
Announcing the results in Dar es Salaam on November 5, NECTA Executive Secretary Prof Said Mohamed said the performance reflects ongoing efforts to strengthen primary education delivery.
“The overall pass rate has increased to 81.80 percent from 80.87 percent recorded in 2024. This shows a positive trend and improvement in learning outcomes at the basic education level,” he said.
Of the successful candidates, 429,104 were boys (82.51 percent) and 508,477 were girls (81.21 percent). The girls’ pass rate rose by 1.16 percentage points, while boys improved by 0.66 percentage points.
Prof Mohamed said the share of pupils scoring grades A and B increased to 36.90 percent, up by 1.07 percentage points from 2024. “The improvement in performance, especially among girls, shows the effectiveness of ongoing initiatives aimed at enhancing inclusive and equitable access to quality education,” he added.
Subject performance
Kiswahili posted the highest pass rate at 87.57 percent, up by 0.99 percentage points. The proportion of pupils scoring grades A and B in the subject rose to 59.65 percent from 53.46 percent last year.
Science and Technology recorded an 84.43 percent pass rate, with a slight decline in high grades to 48.14 percent from 48.83 percent in 2024.
Civics and Ethics saw one of the strongest gains, with 86.37 percent of pupils passing—an increase of 6.69 percentage points. Pupils scoring grades A and B rose to 56.68 percent from 46.97 percent last year.
However, Social Studies and Vocational Skills recorded a sharp decline, dropping to 70.29 percent from 81.91 percent in 2024. The proportion of pupils earning grades A and B fell from 43.59 percent to 27.87 percent.
Mathematics posted a slight rise to 56.66 percent from 55.12 percent, although only 21.92 percent scored grades A or B.
English Language performance improved to 50.11 percent, up by 6.63 percentage points. Pupils scoring grades A and B rose to 20.95 percent from 15.25 percent.
School performance and compliance
Out of 19,436 schools, 5,503 (28.32 percent) recorded an average of grades A and B, up from 24.54 percent in 2024. A majority—12,224 schools (62.89 percent)—averaged grade C. Only four schools (0.02 percent) were ranked grade E.
A total of 4,682 candidates (0.40 percent) had special needs. NECTA withheld results for 245 pupils who faced issues such as illness, allowing them to re-sit in 2026. Results for 38 candidates were nullified—31 for cheating and seven for using abusive language.
Prof Mohamed noted that, in adherence to data protection laws, results will not display pupils’ names. “Candidates should use their examination numbers to access their results,” he said.
He commended education stakeholders for ensuring smooth examination administration and said the results will guide selection of pupils joining Form One in 2026.
