NEARLY 70 percent of pupils finishing secondary school last year with passes at division three and above have been selected to join high school, the government said yesterday, Mohamed Mchengerwa, the Regional Administration and Local Governments state minister in the President's Office (PO-RALG), said at a media briefing here yesterday that a total of 214,141 pupils met the qualifications to join Form Five (A-Level) as well as technical, teacher training and health colleges for the 2025 academic year.

The selected pupils sat for the secondary school leaving exams and scored Division I to III, meeting the minimum academic requirements, he said. “Of these students, 149,818—equivalent to 69.96 percent—including 76,491 girls and 73,327 boys, have been selected to join Form Five in 694 government secondary schools,” he stated.“An additional 2,875 pupils (1,057 girls and 1,818 boys) will join various programmes at four technical training institutions,” he elaborated.

A further 2,214 pupils have been admitted to diploma-level health colleges, 1,609 to teacher training colleges and 57,625 to various vocational institutions, he said. Those being selected in all these fields include 97,517 girls and 116,624 boys, where 1,028 pupils have special needs, meeting eligibility criteria for advanced-level or vocational education.

A group of 1,728 top-performing pupils (801 girls and 927 boys) have been placed in eight elite government secondary schools designated for high achievers, while 141,146 pupils (72,337 girls and 68,809 boys) will attend boarding schools. Similarly 6,944 pupils (3,353 girls and 3,591 boys) have been placed in day schools, he said.

Arusha Technical College (ATC), the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT), Mbeya University of Science and Technology (MUST) plus the Water Development and Management Institute (WMDI) in Dar es Salaam are the key technical colleges receiving well performing pupils, he said

The first term for those selected to join Form Five commences on 8th July, with pupils expected to report to school from 6th July, while the deadline is set for 21st July, he specified. Those selected for technical colleges will receive specific joining instructions directly from their respective institutions, he stated, stressing that the selection was based solely on exam outcomes and available space, with no school transfers being entertained.

He emphasized the need to set up high school space in every administrative division in line with current policy, noting that every pupil who passes the secondary school leaving exam has an opportunity for high school selection. Regions and districts need to work on expansion and construction of new A-Level schools, plus introducing additional science subject combinations, he said. All regions need to ensure their schools offer core academic combinations to help reduce the financial burden of travel for families where the pupils come from, he added.