MANEB releases 2026 JC, Standard 8 results: Boys outperform girls again

Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB) has released the 2026 Junior Certificate of Education (JCE), commonly known as JC, and Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) examination results, with boys outperforming girls in both examinations.

Results released in conjunction with Ministry of Education, Science and Technology show that 198,903 of the 245,048 candidates who sat the Standard 8 examinations passed, representing an overall pass rate of 81.17%.

At JC level, 125,777 of 154,880 candidates passed, representing an 81.21% pass rate.

Boys outperform girls

Results show a significant gender gap at Standard 8 level despite more girls sitting the examination than boys.

A total of 126,537 girls sat PSLCE, compared with 118,511 boys. However, 97,355 girls passed, representing a 76.94% pass rate, while 101,548 boys passed, representing 85.69%.

This means 8,844 more boys than girls passed despite 8,026 more girls sitting the examination.

The pattern is repeated at JC level, where 78,992 girls sat the examinations compared with 75,888 boys.

Of these, 62,003 girls passed, representing 78.49%, while 63,774 boys passed, representing 84.04%.

Historical results reviewed by Malawi24 show this is not a new phenomenon. Boys have recorded higher pass rates than girls in both examinations over recent years.

In 2023, boys recorded a 90.71% PSLCE pass rate compared with 84.97% for girls. At JC level, boys achieved 77.04% against 68.46% for girls.

The gap persisted in 2024 and 2025. In 2025, boys recorded 90.61% in PSLCE against 84.56% for girls, while JC results showed 81.98% for boys against 73.49% for girls.

This means boys have outperformed girls in the national examinations for at least four consecutive examination years.

However, the JC gender gap has narrowed this year. The difference between boys and girls fell from 8.49 percentage points in 2025 to 5.55 percentage points in 2026.

At Standard 8 level, performance fell sharply for both sexes compared with last year, with the decline steeper among girls.

Zomba Urban tops both examinations

Zomba Urban has emerged as Malawi’s strongest-performing education district in both examinations based on MANEB’s proportion of As and Bs.

In Standard 8, Zomba Urban topped the country with 29.13%, followed by Mzuzu City with 26.91%, Lilongwe West with 25.73%, Rumphi with 25.62% and Phalombe with 22.72%.

Chitipa, Mchinji, Blantyre Urban, Karonga and Nkhata Bay complete the top 10.

Neno was the lowest-ranked district with 3.87%, followed by Chiradzulu at 7.56% and Nkhotakota at 8.21%.

Zomba Urban also topped the JC district rankings with 26.95% of As and Bs, followed by Phalombe at 23.51%, Chiradzulu at 22.27%, Karonga at 22.21% and Mzuzu City at 21.97%.

Mulanje, Dedza, Dowa, Salima and Balaka complete the JC top 10.

Nsanje was at the bottom with 8.30%, followed by Neno with 8.38% and Ntcheu with 9.11%.

Zomba Urban has consistently featured among Malawi’s strongest-performing education districts in recent years, including finishing among the country’s leading districts in previous PSLCE and JC examinations.

North leads Standard 8, Shire Highlands tops JC

At education division level, North performed best in Standard 8 based on the proportion of As and Bs, recording 19.65%.

Central West followed with 18%, South West recorded 14.78%, while Shire Highlands and South East each registered 14.14%. Central East was last with 11.71%.

JC produced a different picture.

Shire Highlands topped the country with 19.11%, followed by South East at 16.70%, Central East at 16.66%, North at 16.09%, Central West at 14.92% and South West at 13.75%.

Girls’ schools dominate top JC performers

Despite girls recording a lower national JC pass rate, girls’ schools feature prominently among Malawi’s best-performing secondary schools.

Ludzi Girls in Mchinji topped the national rankings with 95.71% of As and Bs.

St Mauritius in Rumphi was second with 94.98%, while Jalira Girls, also in Rumphi, came third with 93.89%.

St Kizito Seminary in Dedza was fourth at 90.67%, followed by Bakhita Private School in Balaka at 89.96%.

Robert Blake, Loyola Jesuit, St Mary’s, Marist Private School and Lilongwe Islamic complete the top 10.

At the other end, Ajemson Private School in Lilongwe City recorded a 0% pass rate, placing it at the bottom of the overall JC school rankings.

National secondary schools lead JC performance

Candidates studying at national secondary schools recorded the highest JC pass rate among the different categories of schools.

Of 4,229 candidates who sat JC at national secondary schools, 3,855 passed, representing 91.16%.

District boarding secondary schools recorded 88.54%, City Day secondary schools 86.09%, District Day secondary schools 82.12%, private secondary schools 81.22% and Community Day secondary schools 79.72%.

Internal candidates also performed considerably better than other categories, with 103,438 of 115,977 passing, representing 89.19%.

External candidates recorded a 62.62% pass rate, while Open and Distance Learning candidates recorded 55.09%.

110,522 selected to Form One

MANEB says 110,522 of the 198,903 candidates who passed Standard 8 have been selected to start Form One in various secondary schools.

Of those selected, 55,994 are boys and 54,528 are girls.

This represents a 55.57% transition rate, a significant improvement from 47.59% recorded in 2025.

How to access 2026 MANEB results

Candidates do not have to travel to their schools to access their individual results.

MANEB says examination centres and candidates will access results online, while schools will obtain downloadable PDF copies through their e-Registration Portal.

Individual candidates, parents and guardians can access results through MANEB Examination Results Portal.

Candidates will need the correct examination number and date of birth to retrieve results.

PSLCE candidates can also check the secondary school they have been selected to by using Ministry of Education’s secondary school selection portal and entering their examination number before clicking “SHOW RESULTS”.

Candidates who want to query their PSLCE or JC results must do so in writing through heads of schools where they registered for the examinations.

MANEB says all queries must reach the examinations board by September 15, 2026, after which no further queries will be entertained.