A total of 136,357 candidates, representing 70.26 percent, obtained the School Certificate out of the 194,069 candidates who sat the examination within Zambia—an increase of 2.07 percentage points from the 68.19 percent pass rate recorded in 2024, authorities have revealed. Education Minister, Douglas Syakalima, said that when combined with candidates from South Africa, a total of 136,434 candidates—or 70.27 percent—obtained the School Certificate out of the 194,148 candidates who sat the examination. Announcing the results in Lusaka on Tuesday, Syakalima said this represented an increase of 2.08 percentage points from the 68.19 percent that obtained the School Certificate in 2024.
A total of 54,771 candidates, or 28.22 percent, also obtained statements, while only 2,941 candidates, or 1.52 percent, failed the examination. The national absenteeism rate decreased by 0.15 percentage points, from 1.98 percent in 2024 to 1.83 percent in 2025. “A total of 197,777 candidates registered for the 2025 School Certificate examination, showing an increase by 24,810 or 14.35 percent on the 172,880 candidates who had registered for the same examination in 2024,” the Minister highlighted.
He said that out of the 197,777 registered candidates, 197,690 were from Zambian schools, while 87 were from St. Jeff College School in South Africa. Syakalima said the figures were clear evidence that the government’s free education policy was translating into increased school enrolment.
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“Of the 197,690 registered candidates from within Zambia, 194,069 (98.17%) sat the examination, comprising 92,585 (47.70%) males and 101,484 (52.29%) females, while 3,621 candidates were absent from the examination, comprising 1,861 (51.39%) males and 1,760 (48.61%) females,” he said. He added that together with the candidates from South Africa, a total of 197,777 candidates registered for the examination, comprising 94,489 (47.78%) male and 103,288 (52.22%) female candidates. “I wish to put it on record that this year’s pass rate is unprecedented as it is the first time ever that Zambia has crossed the 70 percent mark for school certificate pass rates,” he said.
The Minister noted that despite increased numbers of learners in classrooms due to the free education policy, learning outcomes had shown consistent improvement over the past five years—from 63.93 percent in 2020 to 70.26 percent in 2025. Syakalima also said candidate absenteeism continued to decline, even as candidature continued to rise. “The recorded improvement in performance and all other achievements stated are a result of the sound policies and interventions the Government is putting in place, including but not limited to the continued recruitment of teachers,” he said.
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