THE National Examinations Council of Tanzania (NECTA) has announced a 3.42 percentage-point increase in the pass rate for the 2026 Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), from 81.80 per cent in 2025 to 85.22 per cent, with a total of 970,876 candidates passing the examination.
The results were announced on November 3, 2026, by NECTA Executive Secretary, Professor Said Mohamed, showing that out of 1,139,273 candidates who sat for the examination conducted in September this year, 527,622 girls, equivalent to 86.18 per cent, passed, while 443,254 boys, representing 84.43 per cent, also passed.
He said the pass rate among girls increased by 3.22 percentage points, from 81.21 per cent in 2025 to 84.43 per cent in 2026, while boys recorded an increase of 3.67 percentage points, from 82.51 per cent to 86.18 per cent.
"A total of 429,667 candidates, equivalent to 37.72 per cent, attained Grades A and B, representing an increase of 0.82 percentage points compared to 2025. Among girls, performance in these grades increased from 33.71 per cent in 2025 to 34.27 per cent in 2026, while boys recorded an increase from 40.73 per cent to 41.90 per cent," he said.
He noted that a total of 20,010 schools participated in the examination, with 12,914 schools, equivalent to 64.54 per cent, recording an average Grade C, while 5,670 schools, representing 28.33 per cent, attained average Grades A and B. Overall, 18,584 schools, equivalent to 92.87 per cent, recorded average grades ranging from A to C.
"Regarding performance by subject, Kiswahili recorded the highest pass rate at 93.13 per cent, followed by Civics and Moral Education at 90.12 per cent, Social Studies and Vocational Skills at 76.53 per cent, Science and Technology at 80.34 per cent, Mathematics at 62.56 per cent and English at 50.50 per cent.
"Performance in Kiswahili increased by 5.56 percentage points compared to 2025, while English recorded an increase of 0.39 percentage points. However, performance in Science and Technology declined by 4.09 percentage points, from 84.43 per cent in 2025 to 80.34 per cent in 2026," he said.
In another development, NECTA withheld the results of 371 candidates who failed to sit for a significant number of subjects or all examination subjects, giving them an opportunity to repeat the examination in 2027 in accordance with Regulation 32(1) of the Examination Regulations.
The Council also cancelled the results of 31 candidates, of whom 26 were found to have engaged in examination malpractice, while five had written abusive language in their examination scripts. The action was taken in accordance with examination laws and regulations.
For the 2026 examination, a total of 1,168,718 candidates registered, comprising 637,214 girls, equivalent to 54.52 per cent, and 531,504 boys, representing 45.48 per cent. Of those registered, 1,139,318 candidates sat for the examination, representing 97.48 per cent of the total registered candidates.