Only 116,616 out of the 255,449 candidates that sat for the Grade 9 examination have progressed to grade 10.

According to the results announced by acting Minister of General Education Elizabeth Phiri today, out of the 116,616 that passed, 58,974 are boys while 57,642 are girls.

Phiri said the national progression rate to Grade 10 is 45.65 percent from the 52.76 percent recorded in 2017 .

She urged all candidates who sat for grade 9 external examination to combine their statement of results.

She said combining the results through the District Education Boards will enable them to be admitted to grade 10.

And Examination Council of Zambia Director Dr Michael Chilala said the 2018 Grade 9 examination have gone down in history as most challenging due to examination malpractices.

Dr Chilala said ECZ will have an assessment to review the situation to avoid the situation repeating itself in future.