Rwanda NESA 2024/2025 National Examinations Registration Now Open

Call for Application – National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) RWANDA 2024/25 National Examinations Registration for primary, lower secondary and upper secondary level.

At the end of each school year, NESA prepares National Examinations for primary, lower secondary and upper secondary level. Only candidates who fulfil the registration requirements are eligible to sit for those examinations.

This document provides guidelines for the registration to the National Examinations, for both regular students and Private candidates.

Registration Guidelines for regular candidates

2.1. Registration Period The registration of students who will sit for the national examinations concluding the 2024/2025 academic year, across all levels, will start on February 21st, 2025, and end on March 24th, 2025 (31 days).

The registration for regular students is done through SDMS, by the School Headteacher who will upload all necessary information and documents in the system.

Eligibility for registration

To be able to register for 2024/2025 National Examinations, the following are the minimum requirements for each candidate at his/her respective level:

a. Primary Six (P6): A candidate completing Primary Six must be registered in SDMS for the previous five school years and must:

• have completed all previous school years of primary education (P1 to P6) without skipping any grade.

• Must be enrolled in grade 6 (P6) in SDMS with a clear passport photo.

b. Senior Three (S3): A candidate completing Senior Three must:

• be registered in SDMS with a clear (updated) passport photo and must have completed all previous school years of lower secondary (S1 to S3) without skipping any grade

• have successfully completed the primary level (the candidate who passed the National exam in 2021/2022 academic year in the Rwandan education system, his/her previous academic records are automatically generated from SDMS. Here, He/she is not requested to upload any document).

c. Senior Six (General Education), Level 5 (Technical Education – TSS), or Year 3 (Professional Education): A candidate in Senior Six (General Education), Level 5 (Technical Secondary Schools – TSS), or Year 3 (Professional Education) must:

• be registered in SDMS with a clear (updated) passport photo for the previous two school years and must have completed all previous school years of upper secondary (S4/Y1/L3 to S6/Y3/L5) without skipping any grade or changing combinations/trades.

• have successfully completed the Lower Secondary examinations (the candidate who passed the National exam 2021/2022 academic year in Rwandan system, his/her previous academic records are automatically generated from SDMS. He/she is not requested for any document such as confirmation of results and school reports).

• Students who passed S3 National Exams before the 2021/2022 academic year, or who studied in other education systems are required to provide a S3 result confirmation or equivalence certificate and report cards for the previous two academic years (S4/L3/Y1 and S5/L4/Y2).

Important Note:

a. Schools are required to assist students in obtaining passport photos, result confirmation or scanning their documents free of charge.

b. When registering S6 repeaters in General Education, headteachers must work with DPOs to create special class for them. DPOs will assist in moving repeaters from the regular S6 classes to the special class specifically created for repeaters.

Choosing schools & orientations during the registration process During the registration process, candidates are required to choose schools they wish to attend in S1 or S4/Y1/L3 as follows: a. P6 candidates must choose four (4) boarding schools and two (2) day schools. During placement, NESA will respect the candidate’s choices, based on the student’s performance.

b. S3 candidates must choose four (4) boarding schools and two (2) day schools. The four (4) boarding schools are divided into two categories (choice 1 and choice 2). In these two categories, at least one of the chosen schools must be a Technical Secondary School (TSS).

Registration Guidelines for Private candidates

To be able to sit for National Examinations for Advanced Level, candidates can register as regular students or as private candidates.

This section will provide general information on registration of Private Candidates in Advanced Level. It is to be noted that there is no private candidates’ provision for P6 or S3.

Some key terms used for Private Candidates

a. Private candidate: a person who registered for A-Level National Examinations but is not enrolled for full-time education in a secondary school.

b. Private Candidate Registration Districts (PCRD): These are designated districts where potential private candidates must register online through SDMS.

c. Private Candidate Examination Centres (PCEC): These are designated schools where registered private candidates will sit for National Examinations.

d. Private Candidate Index Number (PCIN): it is a unique number given to a registered private candidate to identify him/her during the examination period. It also appears on the examination result confirmation and certificate issued to the candidate.

Eligibility criteria for private candidate registration

The following are the eligibility criteria for individuals seeking to register as private candidates:

a. An individual who has previously taken the A-Level National Examinations in Rwanda (or its equivalent in other countries).

Note: For official national certificates obtained outside Rwanda, it is mandatory to provide a confirmation letter from the candidate’s former school and another from the national body responsible for issuing the National Examinations certificate.

b. An individual who sat for Ordinary Secondary School Level (O-Level) National Examinations, or their equivalent in other countries, without progressing to or completing A-Level. Prospective candidates must have concluded their Ordinary Level studies at least five years ago, specifically in 2019 or earlier.

For more Information: Download the Rwanda National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) 2024/25 National Examinations Registration Guidelines pdf