Malawi's 2023 MSCE Examination Results Out: 54.40% Pass Rate, but Some Schools Hit 0%
Out of the 154,132 candidates who sat for the examination, a total of 83,846 have successfully passed.
LILONGWE, Malawi — The Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education has unveiled the results of the 2023 Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examination, revealing an overall pass rate of 54.40%, writes Winston Mwale.
Out of the 154,132 candidates who sat for the examination, a total of 83,846 have successfully passed.
The breakdown of the pass rates among different candidate groups highlights significant variations.
Among female candidates, 34,721 out of 72,056 passed, representing a pass rate of 48.15%, while male candidates achieved a higher pass rate of 59.85%, with 49,125 out of 82,076 passing.
In the Special Needs Education (SNE) category, 305 out of 531 candidates passed, constituting a 57.44% pass rate.
Among male SNE candidates, 160 out of 273 passed (58.61%), while 145 out of 258 female SNE candidates passed (56.20%).
The results also revealed variations in pass rates based on candidate types. Among internal candidates, 52,202 out of 96,558 passed, yielding a 58.21% pass rate.
In contrast, external candidates achieved a pass rate of 42.02%, with 7,878 out of 18,747 candidates passing. Open and Distance Learning (ODL) candidates had a 50.91% pass rate, with 19,766 out of 38,827 passing.
When examining the results by school type, conventional secondary schools had the highest pass rate, with 27,193 out of 39,957 candidates passing (68.06%). Community Day Secondary Schools had a pass rate of 45.53%, with 35,046 out of 76,972 candidates passing.
Private secondary schools achieved a 58.08% pass rate, with 21,607 out of 37,203 candidates passing.
The top ten performing education districts ranked in descending order, were Dedza (62.65%), Zomba Urban (62.46%), Chitipa (61.42%), Karonga (61.41%), Dowa (61.02%), Mzuzu City (60.49%), Phalombe (58.95%), Nkhotakota (57.84%), Mulanje (56.98%), and Likoma (56.93%).
On the other hand, the bottom ten performing districts, ranked in ascending order, were Machinga (45.20%), Nsanje (47.67%), Thyolo (48.01%), Lilongwe City (48.33%), Zomba Rural (49.62%), Blantyre Rural (51.40%), Chikwawa (51.64%), Lilongwe Rural East (51.65%), Rumphi (51.73%), and Balaka (52.57%).
The performance of Education Divisions, in descending order, was as follows: North (58.08%), Central East (57.32%), Shire Highlands (54.08%), Central West (52.79%), South East (52.74%), and South West (52.37%).
The top ten schools based on the percentage of candidates with distinctions, in descending order, were Marist Pvt Secondary (52.58%), St. Kizito Secondary (45.83%), Mtendere Secondary (40.50%), Nankhunda Seminary (38.43%), St. Mary's Secondary (37.92%), St. Patrick's Seminary (36.73%), Dedza Secondary (35.16%), Pius XII Seminary (34.47%), Loyola Jesuit Secondary (31.40%), and Likuni Boys Secondary (30.71%).
However, some schools had a 0% pass rate, including Phembe CDSS (Mzimba South), Chaboli CDSS (Mzimba North), Real Park Pvt (Neno), Chivumbe CDSS (Blantyre R), Phonics Pvt (Karonga), and Mbongozi CDSS (Kasungu).
Candidates can access their results at the examination centres where they registered.
Those wishing to query their results should do so in writing through their school heads, with all queries reaching MANEB by October 31, 2023. MANEB will not entertain direct queries from candidates.