ZANZIBAR: ZANZIBAR President Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi has announced full government scholarships for Form Six students who attain Division One with three to five points from next year, in a move aimed at rewarding academic excellence and widening access to higher education.
The initiative is intended to encourage students to excel academically and ensure that financial difficulties do not prevent high-performing young people from pursuing university education.
Dr Mwinyi made the announcement at State House yesterday during a ceremony to honour students who performed exceptionally well in the 2024 and 2025 Form Four national examinations and the 2026 Form Six examinations.
He said the government was expanding opportunities for young people to acquire higher education qualifications and skills needed to contribute to Zanzibar’s development.
“The government has increased the budget for higher education loans from 35bn/- in the 2025/2026 financial year to 45bn/- in 2026/2027 to ensure more students benefit from it,” he said.
He added,” The increased allocation is intended to enable more students to pursue further studies, while the new scholarship initiative will provide additional support to eligible high achievers,”
Dr Mwinyi also commended CRDB Bank for partnering with the government to provide scholarships to high-performing students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
He urged students to take advantage of opportunities offered by the government and other stakeholders by maintaining discipline, working hard and setting clear goals for their future.
The President also commended teachers for their contribution to students’ academic, moral and social development, stressing that their responsibilities extended beyond classroom instruction to preparing young people to make sound decisions and overcome life’s challenges.
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He called on parents and guardians to work closely with teachers, monitor their children’s progress and encourage reading and respect for good values.
Dr Mwinyi further directed the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to maintain educational standards, strengthen accountability and develop effective strategies to address challenges facing the sector.
Education and Vocational Training Minister, Ms Lela Mohamed Mussa, said government investment had contributed to a decline in the proportion of Form Four students receiving Division Zero, from 42.5 per cent in 2020 to 10 per cent in 2026.
“At Form Six level, the proportion of students receiving Division Zero fell from 1.1 per cent in 2021 to 0.47 per cent in 2026,” she said.
Ms Mussa attributed the improvements to investment in school infrastructure, modern teaching and learning facilities and efforts to improve teachers’ welfare.
She congratulated Dr Mwinyi and his government on the progress, urging high-performing students to view their achievements as the beginning of a journey towards becoming skilled professionals capable of contributing to national development.
The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr Khamis Abdallah Said, said the Form Four pass rate rose from 82 per cent in 2024 to 92 per cent in 2025.
“During the same period, the number of students who attained Division One rose from 1,150 to 1,434, while those who received Division Zero declined from 4,707 to 2,022,” he said.
For Form Six, Mr Said, said the 2026 pass rate stood at 99.53 per cent, representing 5,098 students, compared with 99.75 per cent in 2025.
Despite the slight decline in the overall pass rate, the number of students attaining Division One increased from 992 in 2025 to 1,304 in 2026, representing 25.46 per cent of candidates who sat the examinations.
Mr Said added that the government had distributed 4,000 laptops between 2023 and 2025 to students who performed well in Form Four and Form Six examinations.
He said procurement was under way to provide laptops to 1,434 Form Four students who excelled in 2025 and 1,304 Form Six students who performed well in 2026.
The government had also allocated 12.5bn/- for higher education loans targeting more than 10,000 students pursuing diploma, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes.
The new scholarship initiative adds to government efforts to expand access to higher education and ensure that strong academic performance opens up greater opportunities for young people.