Zanzibar — A TOTAL of 50,769 candidates, equivalent to 96.94 per cent have passed the 2025 Standard Seven National Examinations, the Zanzibar Ministry of Education and Vocational Training has announced.
Releasing the results at a press briefing held over the weekend at the ministry's offices in Mazizini, the Executive Director of the Zanzibar Examinations Council (ZEC), Dr Rashid AbdulAziz Mukki, said the pass rate had increased slightly by 0.28 percentage points from last year's 96.66 per cent.
This year, 53,456 candidates were registered for the exams, comprising 27,144 girls (50.78 per cent) and 26,312 boys (49.22 per cent).
Dr Mukki noted that the number of candidates rose by 6,508 (12.17 per cent) compared to 46,948 in 2024, with 87.73 per cent coming from public schools and 12.27 per cent from private schools.
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Dr Mukki said that 296 candidates with special needs sat the exams.
These included five visually impaired learners, 22 with physical disabilities, four with multiple disabilities, 38 deaf candidates, 85 with intellectual disabilities, and 142 with low vision, representing a 94.52 per cent increase in this category.
He added that low performing candidates decreased by 0.28 per cent, down from 3.34 per cent in 2024.
Girls performed better than boys, accounting for 52.36 per cent of all passes, compared to 47.64 per cent for boys.
Expounding performance by grade Dr Mukki said Grade A had 314 candidates (0.60 per cent), up by 0.1 per cent, Grade B: 5,975 candidates (11.41 per cent), up by 0.95 per cent, Grade C: 21,839 candidates (41.70 per cent), Grade D: 22,641 candidates (43.23 per cent) and Grade F: 1,605 candidates (3.06 per cent) On performance by subject, he said creative arts and sports recorded the highest pass rate at 99.02 per cent, mathematics, which is traditionally one of the most challenging subjects achieved a pass rate of 59.69 per cent, an improvement of 4.17 percentage points from 55.52 per cent in 2024.
On performance of candidates with special needs, he said out of 294 specialneeds candidates who sat the exams, 280 (95.24 per cent) passed.
These included five visually impaired, 19 with physical disabilities 36 deaf candidates, 136 with low vision, three with multiple disabilities and 85 with intellectual disabilities.
Dr Mukki said one disciplinary incident involving a candidate who wrote extreme insults on an exam script.
"Strict disciplinary action will be taken," he said.
A total of 52,374 candidates sat the exams, 26,862 girls (51.29 per cent) and 25,512 boys (48.71 per cent), marking a 13.81 per cent increase from 2024. Public school candidates accounted for 87.53 per cent (45,845), while 12.47 per cent (6,529) were from private schools.
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However, 1,082 candidates (2.02 per cent) did not sit the exams. Of these absentees, 73.94 per cent were boys and 26.06 per cent were girls.
Absenteeism rose by 16.72 per cent from 927 in 2024, with West A District recording the highest number at 212 absentees.
Dr Mukki commended the government, parents, and teachers for their continued support and commitment to improving education delivery in Zanzibar.
