Primary School Leaving Examination results indicate that 42,217 candidates sat for their exams last year. Of this 6,468 (15.3%) got Grade A, 7,259 (or 17.2%) Grade B while 15,058 (or 35.7%) got Grade C. Another 13,005 (or 30.8%) and 392 (or 0.9 %) got Grades D and E respectively. About 35 candidates were un-graded. Although there was an increase in the number of students who got Grade A, this year's group performed worse at other levels with Grade B dropping and Grades D and E increasing. "The proportion of candidates classified under D and E has increased, showing a growing number of learners who perform below the minimum competency levels required for learning more demanding materials at the junior secondary level" said a statement from the Botswana Examination Council (BEC). The other pattern emerging from the results is that districts with big urban areas such as Jwaneng, Gaborone, Selebi-Phikwe, Francistown and Lobatse show a larger proportion of students with higher grades than the more rural regions of Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, North West and Kweneng.
