Malawi National Examinations Board (Maneb) has released results of the 2024 Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) and Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) examinations.
Of the 252, 668 candidates that sat the Standard 8 examinations, 217, 708 have passed. This represents 86.1 percent pass rate, a decline from the last year’s 87.77 percent pass rate.
In JCE examinations, 110,002 candidates have passed out of 154,504, representing 71.2 percent pass rate, also a decline from last year’s 72 percent.
Maneb Executive Director Dorothy Nampota said out of the students who sat the 2024 PSLCE examinations, 106,907 are females and 110,801 are males.
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Speaking at a media briefing in Lilongwe, Minister of Education Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima hailed Maneb for releasing the examinations results on time.
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Vice Chairperson for the Maneb Board, Lonely Magareta, said Maneb is taking all necessary steps to attain efficient examination administration, citing e-registration and e-payment.
She has also expressed appreciation to relevant stakeholders who helped Maneb to successfully administer the examinations, citing teachers, security agencies and private school associations.
Education activist Benedicto Kondowe said it is notable that male students continue to outperform females, with pass rates of 89 percent and 82 percent respectively.
“Although the gender gap is not excessively wide, it underscores the need for targeted interventions to empower girls, such as through girls’ camps, mentorship programmes, and other supportive initiatives to elevate their academic performance,” he said.
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He also said the concentration of high performance in urban districts and selected schools highlights a significant disparity between urban and rural educational outcomes.
He said rural schools often struggle with inadequate resources, which hinders their ability to compete equitably.
“To address this, strategic support should be directed towards rural schools to ensure they receive the necessary infrastructure, teacher-leaner materials and qualified educators to boost their performance and reduce the existing disparities,” Kondowe said.
