The Ordinary Level pass rate for candidates who sat five or more subjects dropped from 5.87 per cent in 2025 to 3 per cent in the June 2026 examinations, while the Advanced Level pass rate increased by 11.88 per cent, the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) has said.
ZIMSEC board chairperson Professor Paul Mapfumo announced the release of the results on Monday afternoon. The results will be available on the ZIMSEC results portal for five days.
Mapfumo said 37,065 candidates registered for the June 2026 Ordinary Level examinations, down from 40,465 in the same session last year. Of those, 802 were school candidates, and 36,263 were private candidates.
He said there was a decrease of 3,400 registered candidates in the June 2026 session, translating to a percentage decrease of 20.23.
Of the 37,065 registered candidates, 22,244 sat for one subject while 10,347 sat for two subjects, representing 60 per cent and 27 per cent of the candidature respectively.
Only 291 candidates, representing 0.78 per cent of the total, sat for five or more subjects. Of these, nine passed with Grade C or better, giving a pass rate of 3 per cent.
That was down from June last year, when 511 candidates sat for five or more subjects and 30 passed with Grade C or better, for a pass rate of 5.87 per cent. Mapfumo said this reflected a 2.87-percentage-point drop in the pass rate.
The number of candidates with special needs remained at 41, comprising 21 who used Braille, seven who were physically impaired, 4 who were hard of hearing and 4 who required enlarged print.
At Advanced Level, 91 candidates sat for the June 2026 examinations, compared to 110 in the same session last year.
Of the 91 candidates, 54 sat for two or more subjects, with 43 obtaining Grade E or better in two or more subjects, resulting in a pass rate of 79.62 per cent. That was up from 67.74 per cent recorded in June last year.
In 2025, 62 of the 110 candidates wrote two or more subjects and 42 obtained Grade E or better in two or more subjects, which translated to an overall pass rate of 67.74 per cent. The latest figures, therefore, show an 11.88-percentage-point increase.
However, the pass rate among candidates who sat for one subject fell to 72.97 per cent from 81.25 per cent recorded in June 2025.
The June 2026 examinations were also the last to be conducted under the Competency-Based Curriculum before the transition to the Heritage-Based Curriculum.
More: The Herald
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