More than 70,500 students who took the grade 12 national university entrance exams this year scored the passing mark, according to the Ministry of Education.
Education minister Birhanu Nega (Prof) briefed reporters on the overall performace of the exam at the Ministry’s headquarters on Saturday. The results will be disclosed to the students next week – on either Monday or Tuesday.
More than 550,210 students sat for the Ethiopian Higher Education Entrance Certificate Examination (EHEECE), given nationwide in hybrid formats last July.
A total of 70, 544 examinees managed to score 50% and above, qualifying for admission to higher education institutions.
The passing rate stands at 12.8%, indicating substantial improvement over the previous academic years’ results. Last year’s passing rate was just 8.9%.
However, the gap in the passing rates of the social and natural sciences students stays wide.
The report card shows 16.5% of the natural sciences students obtained the passing mark, whereas passing rate of social sciences students stands 8.33% .
The highest point in the natural science exam is scored by a student from Oda Special Boarding School, located in Adama, Oromia region. He has obtained 591.6 – out of 600.
The highest scoring female natural sciences student is from Agew Mider High school, located in Amhara Region’s Enjibara. Her point is 583.
With 576.2 point, a student from Dodola Iffa Borru High school has become this year;s top scorer in the social sciences exams.
A Bole Super Holy Savior School student has also obtained 569.1, making her the highest scoring female social sciences student.
Per the Education Ministry’s report, 80 high schools were able to see their entire students pass. Not even a single student has passed from 568 high schools.
Remedial Program
Students that missed the cutoff point could still join universities as the ministry of education extends its remedial program.
However, their number will be fewer than the previous years.
“Since more students have obtained the passing mark compared to the previous years, the remedial student intake will decrease,” Birhanu says.
The cutoff points for the remedial program have not yet been set. The minister expects them to be made public in the near future.
