Male candidates emerged as the top performers in the 2025 Grade 11 and Grade 12 examinations, according to provisional results released by the education ministry on Tuesday.
During the official announcement of the results, minister of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture Sanet Steenkamp said male candidates performed strongly overall, particularly in science and commercial subjects.
“Male pupils dominated top achievement categories across most subjects at both senior secondary levels. The boys have proven themselves,” she said.
She said enrolment numbers showed a slight decline in Grade 11 candidature compared to the previous year.
“A total of 38 692 full-time candidates registered for the Namibia Senior Certificate Ordinary (NSCCO) level examination in 2025, compared to 40 757 candidates who registered in 2024,” she said.
Despite the decrease in registration, overall performance remained stable, with an improvement noted in the number of pupils qualifying for promotion to the next grade.
Steenkamp attributed the results to curriculum stability, improved teacher support, and increased pupil adaptation to assessment demands.
The ministry noted that while boys dominated the top-performing categories for 2025, girls continued to outnumber them in overall enrolment figures at both Grade 11 and 12 levels.
Steenkamp emphasised that the results should not be viewed as a competition between the genders, but rather as an indication of progress made in addressing historical underperformance among boys in the education system.
She further urged parents, teachers and pupils to continue working together to improve academic outcomes across all regions, especially in rural and underserved areas.
“All candidates are hereby informed that the 2025 NSSCO and Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) examination results will be accessible via the ministry’s official website,” Steenkamp concluded. — Nampa
