KIGALI – After accommodating a Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) cohort that grew by more than 50,000 candidates compared to last year, Rwanda’s 2025-2026 national examination results have produced more successful candidates.
The country’s education system returned with pass rates rising across both primary and Ordinary Level examinations and major gains recorded in subjects that had long troubled learners, particularly Mathematics.
The National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) announced that 371,660 learners passed PLE and Ordinary level national examinations combined, translating into an overall success rate of 87.3 percent.
The surge in examination candidates has been linked by education officials to learners whose schooling was disrupted during the COVID-19 period and who have now progressed into examination classes.
Instead of weakening performance, however, the larger cohort coincided with improvements across much of the curriculum.
State Minister for Education Claudette Irere addressing the audience at the release of the results.
State Minister for Education Claudette Irere credited learners, teachers and parents for the outcome, while cautioning that the growing number of successful candidates will intensify pressure on secondary school placement and classroom capacity.
The Clearest Turnaround Emerged in Mathematics.
At primary level, the subject’s pass rate jumped from 27.5 percent last year to 50 percent, marking one of the most significant improvements recorded this year.
Science and Elementary Technology also improved to 81.1 percent, while Social Studies and Religious Education climbed to 95 percent.
English moved against the trend, falling to 66.4 percent, while Kinyarwanda remained one of the country’s strongest-performing subjects. The pattern continued at Ordinary level.
Mathematics nearly doubled, rising from 43.9 percent to 87.5 percent. Biology and Health Sciences recorded another sharp improvement, English strengthened considerably, and Geography and Kinyarwanda continued posting strong performances.
Entrepreneurship was one of the few subjects to register a decline.
Kirehe Leads Top Performing Districts
Beyond subject scores, this year’s results also exposed an emerging divide between districts that excel consistently and those that peak only during examination season.
Kirehe retained its position as Rwanda’s top-performing district for the second consecutive year, posting a PLE pass rate of more than 99 percent and an O-Level pass rate of 99.98 percent. Ngoma and Musanze followed closely in primary performance, while Musanze and Karongi completed the leading trio at Ordinary Level.
But NESA’s broader assessment suggests the real competition is no longer judged by one examination alone.
The authority has increasingly shifted toward measuring learning across multiple school years, from Primary Four through Primary Six and Senior One through Senior Three, to identify districts that build sustained academic progress rather than relying on last-minute exam preparation.
Under that wider measure, Kicukiro emerged as the strongest-performing primary district, while Kayonza led the long-term O-Level learning assessment.
The results were not without blemishes.
Authorities confirmed cases of examination malpractice, with some candidates facing disciplinary action while other results remain withheld pending investigations.
As schools begin preparing for placements into boarding schools and the next academic year, this year’s examinations leave Rwanda with a bigger question than who scored highest.
The challenge now is whether an education system that has proven it can bring more learners to the finish line can also create enough space for the next stage of their journey.
Who are the Winners?
Musonga Isimba from FAWE girls school and who earned 98.7 percent.
For Rwanda’s top-performing candidates, the results marked both an achievement and the beginning of bigger ambitions.
Rwego Mutijima Bruno Ricky, a pupil at Ecole Internationale La Racine in Bugesera, emerged as the country’s top performer in the Primary Leaving Examination after scoring an exceptional 99.6 percent.
Sharing second place were seven pupils who each scored 99.4 percent: Ntwali Ngabo Pacifique of Wisdom Centre; Ineza Singizwa Musengimana Annie of Ecole Internationale La Racine; Byoseniyo Aimee Albine of Kigali Harvest School;
Irumva Bigwi Hugo of APACOPE; Ingabire Ella Jesca and Shingiro Ivan Muhimba of Saint André; and Cyusa Mugisha Ivan of Ecole Les Rossignols. The high-achieving pupils come from schools in Bugesera, Gasabo, Nyarugenge, Muhanga, and Kamonyi districts.
At Ordinary Level, the country’s highest scorers are Leontine Uwamariya ASF Nyamasheke and Musonga Isimba from FAWE girls school and who earned 98.7 percent, topping the national rankings.
“I want to keep working hard so that I can become a pharmaceutical researcher,” Isimba said after being recognized as Rwanda’s best-performing O-Level candidate.
Her mother, Furaha Betty, said her daughter’s achievement had strengthened her belief that she is on course to fulfil his ambitions, describing the result as a source of confidence for their family’s hopes for his future.
Rwego Mutijima Bruno Ricky, a pupil at Ecole Internationale La Racine in Bugesera, emerged as the country’s top performer in the Primary Leaving Examination.
