Justicia Shipena
A total of 12 031 full-time Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary (NSSCO) candidates qualified to progress to Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level.
The Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture on Tuesday released the examination results.
The figure represents learners who achieved Grade C or better in at least three NSSCAS subjects, meeting the minimum requirement to progress to AS level, out of 33 862 full-time candidates who registered for the 2025 NSSCO examinations.
This means 36.0% of full-time candidates qualified to advance to AS level.
Education minister Sanet Steenkamp said the outcomes show steady progress but also underline ongoing challenges.
“The results continue to reflect learners’ true capabilities and stand as evidence of the robustness of our national assessment standards,” Steenkamp said.
The ministry reported that full-time NSSCO enrolment declined from 40 757 candidates in 2024 to 33 862 in 2025.
During the same period, 42 819 part-time candidates wrote the examinations, an increase of 3 819 candidates, or 9.8%, compared to 2024.
She said the drop in full-time numbers may reflect earlier systemic pressures in the schooling system, while the rise in part-time enrolment points to growing reliance on alternative education pathways.
Performance data shows improvement in progression to AS level. The proportion of full-time NSSCO candidates qualifying increased from 29.5% in 2024 to 36.0% in 2025, a gain of 6.5 percentage points.
Despite this improvement, most learners still did not meet the minimum AS entry requirement.
Overall academic performance also strengthened.
Using the old benchmark of achieving 20 points in five subjects, Steenkamp said the pass rate rose from 53.7% to 60.2%.
Under the revised benchmark of 25 points in five subjects, results improved from 34.8% to 40.3%.
She said this suggests broader improvement in subject-level achievement, even among learners who did not qualify for AS level.
Subject-level outcomes showed mixed results. Among full-time candidates, 89.7% of subject entries were graded in 2025, up slightly from 89.0% in 2024.
For part-time candidates, Steenkamp noted that graded entries declined from 92.1% to 91.2%, with most results falling in the lower grade bands of E, F and G.
Meanwhile, Kavango East recorded the highest AS qualification rate at 52.7%, well above the national average of 36.0%. Oshikoto followed with 40.7%, Khomas with 38.1%, and Kavango West with 37.6%.
The lowest qualification rates were recorded in Kunene (23.0%), Omaheke (25.0%), and Hardap (25.7%).
The ministry said the disparities highlight the need for targeted academic support in weaker-performing regions.
At AS, enrolment continued to grow. 11 968 full-time candidates registered for NSSCAS in 2025, up from 9 835 the previous year. Part-time AS enrolment also increased from 779 to 1 182 candidates.
Under the revised AS benchmark, 70.0% of full-time NSSCAS candidates achieved graded results in at least three subjects, compared to 74.1% in 2024, while overall subject-level grading remained stable at 86.4%.
Furthermore, Steenkamp said the credibility of Namibia’s national examination results remains central to maintaining confidence in the country’s education system.
Steenkamp said the 2025 NSSCO and NSSCAS results affirm that national assessments are conducted with fairness, accuracy and integrity and reflect learners’ true academic abilities.
“They affirm to the nation, to parents, and to every learner that our assessments are conducted with fairness, accuracy, and integrity,” she said.
She said the outcomes stand as evidence of the strength and reliability of Namibia’s national assessment standards.
Captions
Photo 1 – Sanet Steenkamp
Photo 2 – Top NSSCAS performers…(From left to right): Panduleni Nghitanwa of Oshigambo High School (Oshikoto), who placed first nationally in the 2025 NSSCAS examinations, Nicodemus Heita (second) and Elao Aushona (third), both from Onawa Senior Secondary School in Omusati region.
- Photos: Justicia Shipena
