Top results expected from students as they sit national Grade 10 Exams

The Grade 10 National Certificate exams have begun across Papua New Guinea, marking a key moment for thousands of students as they vie for spots in Grade 11.

NBC News visited several schools which have reported strong turnouts of students.

Exams started today with Mathematics and Personal Development papers, and at Butuka Academy, Deputy Principal Academic Delilah Ova shared their schedule for the week for their 152 students.

"Today we are having mathematics and PD. Tomorrow we will have social science. We do not offer arts so we will only have a social science exam tomorrow. On Wednesday we will have science and ICT. On Thursday we have business studies. We do not offer agriculture on Thursday so we will not sit for that exam. And on Friday we will complete the week with the English exam. So that is the rundown of the week's exam schedule."

Butuka's students are aiming high this year, after their Grade 10s secured the school a national ranking of 10th.

"Last year, actually, we surprised ourselves. Our great 10s placed us at number 10 in the country. So that really means a lot for us this year. We are hoping that we will also maintain that performance this year for the students. We do have expectations for our students, and they do for themselves. So, we are expecting good results this year from our students."

Meanwhile, Kilakila Secondary School, Principal Jane Ifuda reported a solid start despite a small number of absences.

With 460 students enrolled across nine classes, 451 turned up for today's two-hour Math exam, wrapping up by 11:30 a.m., followed by Personal Development until 2:30 p.m.

"At Kilakila Secondary, the great 10 national certificate exams, we started today with mathematics, and that's two hours, and we end at about 11.30. Then we have personal development that starts at 12.30 and will finish by 2.30 this afternoon. Our total enrollment this year for the great 10 is about nine classes. So, from the nine classes of the great 10, we have a total of 460 students confirmed to be certificated. Unfortunately, today's total is 451 who have attended the exams. The other nine have been out of school for reasons unknown to them. We have to confirm that by the end of today."

Principal Ifuda is optimistic, drawing from last year's results where 200 students qualified for Grade 11 – around 60% progression.

The school, once a high performer, has seen steady improvement over the past five years and is targeting a spot in the national top 50.

"Our 2024 academic performance for grade 10 was satisfactory done with good indications from the students' results. From last year, grade 10, we had a total of 200 qualified for grade 11... So, we're expecting that almost 60% of our grade 10s this year will make it into grade 11... We're hoping that if we can make it into the top 50, it's a benchmark for Kilakila to work towards."