The National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) of Rwanda is pleased to present this comprehensive Question and Answer guide for students, parents, and school administrators regarding the 2025 National Examination Results and Student Placement process.
1. How does a student proceed to know their grades and the institution they have been assigned to?
A student who has taken the National Examinations can know their grades and the institution they have been assigned to study at through the following technological means:
The SDMS website is used, in two ways:
Once the student has logged in, they enter their identification number (index number), click on “Get My Results”, and they will immediately see their grades and the institution they have been assigned to. At the bottom, they look for where it says “Download Confirmation of Results”, and they will get a signed document containing their grades.
2. How are the marks obtained by candidates in the national examinations calculated?
Starting from the year 2025, a student’s marks are calculated and announced as a percentage in every subject at all levels. A candidate who has taken the National Examinations for the completion of the primary school level and the general level of secondary school is considered to have passed if they obtain at least fifty percent (50%) in the National Examinations.
For graduates of primary schools and the first level of secondary school (P6, S3), for a student to know their total score, they add up the value of the marks they obtained as a percentage in each subject and divide by the number of subjects taken in the National Examination at the level they completed. For primary schools, you divide by five (5) and for the first level of secondary school, you divide by nine (9).
3. What procedure is followed in placing students?
Students are placed according to the following steps:
a. School administrators request students through the technological system (SDMS).
b. Students who have passed are placed in the positions indicated by the school administrators.
c. Informing students of the institutions they have been assigned to.
d. Receiving and responding to student inquiries.
4. Who has the responsibility of placing students?
NESA alone has the responsibility and authority to place students in the first year (S1) and the fourth year (S4/L3/Y1).
The responsibility of the school administrator is to receive the students assigned by NESA, to mark in the system that those assigned students are present daily (attendance in SDMS) from the day the student is received until the deadline set by NESA for receiving them.
Important: If a school administrator places a student without having been granted the authority by NESA in writing, they commit an offense and will be held accountable: Article 128 of Law No. 010/2021 of 16/02/2021 governing the organization of education, in paragraph 2, states that a School Administrator who begins teaching without authorization, a teacher who teaches without a permit, or one who admits a student who does not meet the required criteria shall be subject to an administrative fine of not less than five hundred thousand Rwandan Francs (500,000 Frw) but not exceeding one million Francs (1,000,000 Frw) and the committed offense will be halted.
5. Which students are placed by the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA)?
As per the regulations governing National Examinations, NESA only places students who have passed the National Examinations for the completion of the primary school level (P6) into the first year of secondary school (S1) and those who have passed the National Examinations for the completion of the general level of secondary school (S3) into the fourth year of general secondary education, technical and vocational education (S4, Y1 and L3).
6. What should a student do if they cannot arrive at school on time?
All students are required to arrive at school according to the set schedule. If a parent finds that their child will arrive at school late for a justifiable reason, they must notify the school administrator where the child will study, inform them of the reason that will cause the child to be late, and agree on the time the child will arrive at school.
Important:Â School administration is required to display the attendance of all students received no later than Thursday, date 11/09/2025 and to display in the system (SDMS) those who did not come to school after having contacted the parents to confirm that the student will indeed not come.
7. What is considered when placing students in schools?
As provided for by the Ministerial Instructions governing National Examinations, the basis for placing students is the following:
a. The choices made by students during the registration period for the National Examinations.
b. The marks obtained by students in the National Examinations.
c. The available spaces in schools.
8. Since subject combinations have changed to “learning pathways” in secondary schools, how are candidates who applied for specific subject combinations placed?
Before placing candidates, the requested subjects of study (combinations) are first aligned with the “learning pathways”. The subject combinations have been transformed in the following way:
MCB, PCB, PCM: Mathematics and Science Stream 1 (MS1)
MEG, MCE, MPC, MPG: Mathematics and Science Stream 2 (MS2)
HGL and HLP: Arts and Humanities
LFK: Languages
This means that a candidate who applied to study MCB, if they meet the requirements, is placed in MS1, while MCE is placed in MS2.
9. How are students placed?
Before students are placed, the following is first done using the SDMS system:
Ranking all candidates according to the percentage marks obtained, starting from the candidate with the highest marks.
Ranking them according to the total marks each obtained in all examinations taken (raw marks).
9.1. Placing students in the first year of the general level of secondary school.
A. Those going to the first year of secondary school in boarding schools:
Step 1:Â Students are placed in schools they selected based on the marks they obtained. The student with the highest marks is given priority over others to be placed in the school they selected, according to the order in which they ranked the schools (choice order).
Step 2:Â Students who remain without having obtained places in the schools they selected are placed in schools that have available places in the district where they live.
Step 3:Â Students who still have not found places in the district where they live are placed in schools that have available places in neighboring districts to where they live.
Step 4:Â Students who do not find places in schools in the neighboring districts to where they live are placed in schools that have available places in the province where they live.
Step 5:Â Students who remain without having found places in schools in the province where they live are placed in schools that have available places here and there across the country.
Important:Â If the remaining places are few and there are many students with equal marks and the same choices, the students are placed in the remaining places based on a draw (Randomly).
Step 6:Â When the places in boarding schools are exhausted, the remaining students who passed are placed in day schools based on their choices, marks, and where they live (sector and cell).
B. Those going to the first year of secondary school in day schools.
Students who remain having passed but did not get places in boarding schools are given places in nearby day schools. A candidate is placed in the school they selected based on the marks they obtained; if they do not get a place where they selected, they are given a place in the cell where they live; if they do not get a place in the cell where they live, they are given a place in another cell, but within the sector where they live. If there is no secondary school in the sector where they live, they are placed in a school in another sector close to the school they were supposed to attend.
9.2. Placing students in the fourth year of secondary school in boarding schools:
Step 1:Â Students are placed in schools and streams (learning pathways) according to their chosen subject combinations they applied for during registration, based on the marks they obtained. The student with the highest marks is given priority to be placed in the school and stream corresponding to their choices, and the order of choices (choice order) is respected.
Step 2:Â Students who did not get places in the schools and streams corresponding to their choices are placed in schools that have the streams they selected in the district where they live.
Step 3:Â Remaining students are placed in schools that have the streams they selected in districts neighboring the districts where they live.
Step 4:Â Students who do not find places in schools in the neighboring districts are placed in schools that have the streams they selected in the province where they live.
Step 5:Â Students who do not find places in schools in the province where they live are placed in schools that have the streams they selected here and there across the country.
Step 6:Â Students who do not find places in the schools and streams they selected are placed in schools and streams that have available places in the District where they live.
Step 7:Â Students who do not find places in schools in the district where they live are placed in schools and streams, whatever they may be, in districts neighboring the districts where they live.
Step 8:Â Students who do not find places in the districts neighboring the district where they live are placed in schools that have available places in the province where they live.
Step 9:Â Students who do not find places in the province where they live are placed in schools and streams that have available places here and there across the country.
Important:Â If the remaining places are few and there are many students with equal marks and the same choices, the students are placed in the remaining places based on a draw (Randomly).
Step 10:Â Students who passed but did not get places in boarding schools are placed in nearby day schools that teach them, in a way that allows them to study from home.
9.3. Placing students in the fourth year at Rwanda Coding Academy (RCA)
For a student to be eligible to study at Rwanda Coding Academy (RCA), they must meet the following criteria based on the marks from the O-Level National Examinations:
a. The student must have selected RCA as their first choice (first choice a, b) during the registration period for the general level examinations.
b. The student must have obtained at least 80% in the subjects of Mathematics, Physics, and English.
c. The student must have the highest overall percentage compared to others who selected to study at RCA.
9.4. Placing students in the fourth year in the Associate Nursing Program (ANP) stream
For a student to be eligible to study in the Associate Nursing Program (ANP) level, they must meet the following criteria based on the marks from the O-Level National Examinations:
a. The student must have selected ANP as their first choice (first choice a, b) when registering for the general level examinations.
b. The student must have obtained an overall percentage of at least 65%.
c. The student must have obtained at least 60% marks in the key subjects which include: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English.
9.5. Placing students in the fourth year in teacher training colleges (Y1, TTC)
For a student to be eligible to study in a teacher training college (TTC), they must meet the following criteria based on the marks from the O-Level National Examinations:
a. The student must have selected TTC in their choices when registering for the National Examinations for the completion of the general level.
b. Those wishing to continue their studies in the streams of SME, LE, SSE, and ECLPE must have at least:
An average percentage of 55% in the National Examination.
An average of 50% in the key subjects of that stream.
The key subjects in each TTC stream are as follows:
SME: Mathematics, Physics, Biology, Chemistry and English.
LE: English and Kinyarwanda.
SSE: History, Geography, Entrepreneurship and English.
ECLPE: Mathematics, Physics, Biology, English, Kinyarwanda, History, Geography & Entrepreneurship.
Important:Â A student who selected SME but did not get a place in the school they selected, is placed in ECLPE whenever they meet the requirements for placement in SME.
9.6. Placement in the Accounting Program level
For a student to be eligible to study in the Accounting Program level, they must meet the following criteria:
a. To have selected Accounting in their choices when registering for the National Examinations for the completion of the general level.
b. To have obtained an overall percentage of at least 50%.
c. To have obtained at least 50% marks in the key subjects of that level which are: Mathematics, Entrepreneurship, and English.
9.7. Placement in all levels of General Education Learning Pathways
For a student to be eligible to study in one of the levels that make up General Education Learning Pathways which include Mathematics and Science stream 1 & 2, Languages, Arts and Humanities, they must meet the following criteria:
a. To have obtained an overall average of 50%.
b. To have obtained an average mark of 50% in the key subjects of the stream they selected, as shown below:
Mathematics and Science stream 1:Â Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics.
Mathematics and Science stream 2:Â Physics, Mathematics, Geography.
Arts and Humanities:Â History, English, Geography.
Languages:Â English and Kinyarwanda.
9.8. Placing students in the fourth year in technical, vocational and technical education (L3, TSS)
For a student to be eligible to study in one of the technical and vocational streams, they must have obtained an overall average of at least 50% marks.
9.9. Placing students in the fourth year of day secondary schools:
Students who remain having passed but did not get places in boarding schools are sought places in nearby day schools based on their choices, the marks they obtained, and where they live (cell, sector).
10. Can a student who followed a foreign curriculum be placed by the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA)?
Yes. NESA can place a student who followed a foreign curriculum if they request it. For this to be possible, they must apply for a certificate of equivalence of marks through the website  and then request to be placed in a school following the Rwandan curriculum through the NESA website which is by going to the section written services, then going to “re-integration of students from abroad”; their request will be examined and they will be responded to via the email written in their request.
11. Can a student who passed last year but lacked the means to go to the school they were given get another chance?
A student with this problem should request a school through the NESA website which is by going to the section written services, then going to “re-joining school”; their request will be examined and they will be responded to via the email written in their request.
12. Can a student studying in the fourth or fifth year of general education who wishes to go back and study in TSS be allowed?
A student with this problem should request a school through the NESA website which is by going to the section written services; their request will be examined and they will be responded to via the email written in their request.
13. After the announcement of the National Examination results, what should a Parent/Student do?
The student should know the institution they have been assigned to and prepare to start school.
Arrive at school on the date announced by the Ministry of Education with the required materials.
The parent should provide the child with school materials and help them go to school on time.
14. What is required of the school director?
The school director should prepare all necessary requirements to receive the assigned students.
Ensure that all assigned students will come to study on time.
Record the attendance of each student in the SDMS system from the day they are received and ensure they are on the list of those assigned by NESA and that they have not lost their admission letter.
Calling by telephone, parents when there are students who did not go to school on time. Parents’ numbers are in the system (SDMS).
15. Is the method of marking National Examinations reliable?
Yes, the marking of National Examinations is done using a method called “conveyor belt marking System” which started being used in the year 2008. This method was established to prevent errors that could occur during marking, where a paper would be marked by one teacher. In this “conveyor belt marking System” method, a paper is marked by between 5 and 7 experienced and honest teachers who teach the subject being marked. To that team, another team of checkers (between 2 and 3 per paper) is added. They verify that all questions have been marked, that the marks on the paper are written in the designated place, that the total is correctly added, and they open the candidate’s details and then record the marks on the designated sheets. This therefore gives sufficient confidence in the marks candidates receive.
16. How are marks entered into the machine? How are they verified?
After marks are written on the sheets, they are handed over to those who enter them into the machine for each subject. Marks entered into the machine are further verified by another team that is different from the one that entered them into the machine; a comparison is made between what is in the machine and what was written on the sheets. This is done to identify any errors so they can be corrected.
17. Can a student who is dissatisfied with the marks they received or the placement they were given appeal?
Yes. A student who is dissatisfied with the marks they received can appeal through the school administrator via the SDMS system and in accordance with the instructions given by NESA.
18. What types of appeals are allowed?
Student appeals are allowed in the following categories:
a. Appeals regarding marks.
b. Appeals regarding how they were placed.
c. Appeals regarding incorrect recording of candidate details.
19. How is an appeal regarding marks made? And when?
A student who is not satisfied with the marks they received in the National Examinations can appeal within a period not exceeding fourteen (14) days from the time the marks were announced. It is done using the SDMS system and is not accepted after that period.
This means that appeals will end on Tuesday, date 02/09/2025 at six o’clock in the morning.
20. Who handles appeals regarding the marks a student received?
All appeals regarding marks are submitted to the director of the school where the candidate registered for the National Examinations. All appeals brought directly to NESA by a student or a parent are not accepted.
21. What are the responsibilities of the school director regarding appeals of marks from National Examinations?
Regarding appeals of marks from National Examinations, the school director receives appeals from candidates who registered at the institution they lead, carefully analyzes them to understand their basis, and then forwards all well-founded appeals to NESA through the SDMS system.
22. How does the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) process received appeals regarding National Examination marks?
After NESA receives an appeal and confirms it has merit, it forms a team responsible for verifying and remarking the examination papers for the National Examinations. However, it may reject any appeal if, upon review, it finds no basis and informs the school that submitted the appeal of that decision within a period not exceeding thirty (30) days counted from the day the appeal was received.
23. Is a candidate who has appealed their marks allowed to be present during the review of their appeal?
No. During the period when the team formed by NESA is in the process of reviewing their appeal or remarking their National Examination papers, the candidate is not allowed to be present where that process is taking place.
24. When does the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) announce the outcomes of the appeals regarding National Examination marks?
NESA announces the results from the verification or the remarking through the school that submitted the appeal, within a period not exceeding thirty (30) days starting from the day it received the candidates’ appeals.
25. How is an appeal regarding a student’s placement made?
A student who has passed the National Examinations for completing primary school (P6) or the general level (S3) and is not satisfied with the school they were given has the right to request to be given another placement and to indicate another school they prefer; this is done online through the SDMS system or by contacting a NESA official at the District office where the student resides.
26. What are the grounds for a student to be transferred to another school during an appeal?
A student is allowed to be transferred to another institution if they demonstrate at least one of the following reasons:
a. Having a disability (visible or certified by a doctor)
b. Having a chronic illness requiring regular medical care
c. Wishing to move from a boarding school to a day school.
d. Other reasons that NESA may deem valid.
27. Is a student who has appealed their placement allowed to go back to the school they were originally given while the appeal is being processed?
A student who has appealed their placement, once the appeal is accepted, immediately loses the placement they were given. This means that the student is not allowed to go back to the school they rejected.
Before appealing, they must carefully consider the consequences associated with appealing.
28. Can a student appeal after they have already arrived at the school they were assigned to?
No. A student who has already arrived at the school they were assigned to is not allowed to appeal because they have already taken up the place and no one else has been given that place.
29. If a student who appealed their marks or placement receives a response from NESA that they are not satisfied with, what should they do?
That student can do nothing beyond being explained the results of the verification. The response given by NESA after verifying all matters is final.
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