- JCE results show a slight improvement in national performance
- Overall pass rate rose to 83.7 percent, up from 81.66 percent in 2024
- Performance at higher grades improved while showing mixed outcomes at the lower end
- 2025 improvement forms part of a gradual upward trend since 2023
- Regionally, South East emerged at the top with 52.82% followed by North East with 50.23%
- North West featured among the least performing regions with 28.20%
The Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) recently released 2025 Junior Certificate Examination (JCE) results show a slight improvement in national performance compared to 2024, alongside a sharp rise in top achievers.
According to BEC, 47 880 candidates sat for the 2025 examinations, comprising 23 270 males and 24 542 females.
The overall pass rate rose to 83.7 percent, up from 81.66 percent in 2024, while the number of candidates attaining Merit increased to 43, nearly tripling from the 16 recorded last year. Performance at higher grades also improved, with candidates attaining Grade A rising from 617 in 2024 to 898 in 2025. Those awarded Grade B increased from about 4 800 to 5 336, while Grade C passes climbed from 10 912 to 11 568, pointing to a broader uplift at credit level.
However, the results also show mixed outcomes at the lower end. Grade D declined from 14 524 in 2024 to 14 001 in 2025, Grade E rose slightly from 5 420 to 5 888, and the number of ungraded candidates increased from 6 132 in 2024 to 7 239 in 2025. As a whole the 2025 results therefore reflect incremental gains at the top and middle grades, tempered by a growing number of learners failing to meet minimum requirements.
Beyond the single-year snapshot, the official JCE reports show that this improvement forms part of a gradual upward trend since 2023. Nationally, the proportion of candidates achieving Grade C or better rose from 34.24 percent in 2023 to 36.30 percent in 2024, before improving further to 37.53 percent in 2025. Over the same period, Merit awards climbed from eight in 2023 to 20 in 2024 and 43 in 2025, marking the strongest showing in three years Candidate numbers have also continued to rise, increasing from 44 750 in 2023 to 45 255 in 2024, and reaching 47 812 in 2025, highlighting expanding participation in the examination system
Despite national gains, regional disparities remain pronounced. In 2024, the strongest performance at credit level, defined as Grade C or better, came from South East at 49.88 percent and North East at 49.45 percent, while Ghanzi at 26.20 percent and North West at 29.04 percent recorded the weakest outcomes The same pattern held in 2025, with South East improving to 52.82 percent and North East to 50.23 percent. At the lower end, Kgalagadi at 28.08 percent and North West at 28.20 percent again featured among the least performing regions at credit level
At overall pass level, measured at Grade E or better, North East and South East continued to dominate in 2025 with 93.37 percent and 92.96 percent respectively, while Ghanzi recorded the lowest pass rate at 68.91 percent, followed by Kgalagadi at 76.88 percent Merit awards in 2025 further highlighted uneven regional outcomes, with Central Region producing the highest number of Merit candidates at 12, followed by North East with eight, while South East and Southern contributed seven each. North West recorded just one Merit candidate nationwide
School-level results also revealed pockets of excellence across the country. Based on centres achieving the highest proportions of Grade C or better in 2025, Orapa Junior Secondary School in Central Region emerged as the top-performing school nationally with 79.1 percent, followed by Precious Cornerstone Junior Secondary School in Kgatleng at 78.1 percent, and Moepeng Junior Secondary School in Central at 76.3 percent. Overall, 51 centres achieved at least 50 percent at Grade C or better in 2025, up from 41 centres in 2024, indicating that more schools are crossing the credit benchmark even as national averages rise more slowly
North West remains among the lowest-performing regions on average, with attainment of grade A to C 28.2% in 2025. Notably, Maitlamo Junior Secondary School was the only North West centre linked to Merit-level performance in 2025, insinuating how isolated high achievement remains in the region Taken together, the 2023–2025 JCE results point to a system making steady, incremental progress, particularly at credit level and among top performers. The sharp rise in Merit candidates and the growing number of schools surpassing the 50 percent credit benchmark are encouraging signs. Yet the data also lays bare deep-seated regional inequalities, with South East and North East consistently outperforming North West, Ghanzi and Kgalagadi. As candidature continues to grow year on year, education stakeholders face increasing pressure to translate national gains into more balanced regional outcomes, ensuring that improvement reaches every part of the country.
