Somalia Announces 2025-26 Grade 12 Exam Results: 2,879 Students Fail
Somalia’s Ministry of Education has released the 2025-26 national Grade 12 examination results, with 40,007 of 42,916 students passing and 2,879 failing. The exam was held in 58 districts but excluded Jubaland, Puntland and Somaliland.
MOGADISHU, Somalia (Somali Report) — Somalia’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education on Saturday announced the results of the 2025-26 national Grade 12 secondary school examination, with 40,007 of the 42,916 students who sat for the test recorded as passing.
The examination was conducted in 58 districts across Somalia, excluding the federal member states of Jubaland and Puntland and the self-declared Somaliland region. It was also not held in areas controlled by the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.
The ministry said 2,879 students failed the examination. Of the total candidates, 17,139 were girls and 22,898 were boys, according to the figures released by the ministry.
Mohamed Ise Dahir Yusuf has secured first place in Somalia’s national Grade 12 examination, scoring 94.14%. Mohamed is a student at Howl-Wadaag School in the Banaadir region. Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre called his mother to inform her that her son had ranked first in the country and to congratulate her on his achievement.
The results come amid persistent political disagreements between Somalia’s federal government and several regional administrations. Those disputes have prevented the federal government from conducting its national examination in some parts of the country.
The absence of the examination in Jubaland, Puntland and Somaliland means the results do not represent all Grade 12 students across Somalia. Each of the three regions has its own education authorities and examination systems.
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The figures also highlight the challenges facing Somalia’s education sector, which has been weakened by decades of conflict, political instability, displacement and limited access to schools. Large parts of the country remain outside the reach of federal education institutions, particularly areas controlled by al-Shabab.
Somalia continues to face major challenges in improving access to quality education. The country has among the lowest education indicators in Africa, with shortages of qualified teachers, school infrastructure and learning materials contributing to poor educational outcomes.
The government has sought to expand standardized national examinations as part of efforts to strengthen the education system and establish common standards across the country. But political divisions and insecurity continue to limit the reach of national institutions.
The ministry’s announcement did not provide a breakdown of the results by district or school, nor did it give a national comparison with previous years.
The 2025-26 examination results cover only students who sat for the federal government’s national examination and therefore exclude students in regions where the test was not administered.
About the Author
Ahmed Omar is a senior journalist for Somali Report, based in Mogadishu. He has two decades of experience reporting on Somalia for international and local media. He covers politics, security, governance, business, trade, economic developments and regional affairs.