Candidates from the City of Kigali and Eastern Province have dominated the list of top performers in last year’s primary and ordinary level examinations.The results of the 2013 Primary Leaving Examinations and Senior Three (O-Level) Examinations were released yesterday by the Ministry of Education.In PLE, of the 173,336 candidates who registered, 96 per cent (163,092) sat the exams, returning 84.1 per cent pass, which represents a slight improvement, compared to 2012, when 83 per cent of the candidates who sat passed.Like last year, boys beat girls in performance with more numbers in Division One.Of the 5,465 candidates who passed in Division One, 3,169 (57.9 per cent) are boys."There are various reasons responsible for the poor performance of girls compared to their male counterparts, including the mindset of their parents who may make them miss school sometimes; we will have to find out,” Dr Vincent Biruta, the minister for Education, said while releasing the results.Schools from Gasabo District in the City of Kigali dominate the list of best performers.Kigali Parents School’s Patience Ihirwe Murekezi emerged the best nationwide.Her three classmates were also among the top 10 best candidates countrywide.Other schools that emerged among the best performers are Horrizon, Ecole Internationale, Excella School (all in Gasabo District) and Nyanza Primary School (Kicukiro), with several candidates on the list of top performers in all the five subjects examined.Schools in the Eastern Province such as Hill Side Nyagatare, New Life Academy in Kayonza maintained good performance with La Decouverte from Rwamagana District emerging among the best this year.Fancy KinyarwandaNorthern Province appears on the list of top performers in only one subject–Kinyarwanda–with several schools in Gakenke District demonstrating mastery of the national language (Kinyarwanda).The problem of students who register and do not sit for the national exams was reported again this time, with 6 per cent of the registered candidates reported to have missed the exams.Like in 2012, Ngororero District was the biggest culprit with 490 candidates missing the exams, Bugesera and Kirehe with 439 and 350 candidates, respectively.Dr Biruta partly attributed this to parents who transfer their children from schools after registration, but pointed out the need to find out the exact cause.Change in rankingThe minister said they no longer rank schools based on performance, because in the past it encouraged some schools to bar students considered academically weak from sitting exams.He said this is not acceptable, because it denies students their right to education.Students and parents can log on to www.reb.rw to view their results.District officers will collect the results  beginning today.Senior One and Five selection is scheduled to take place at Lycee Notre Dame de Citeaux in Kigali on January 22 and 23.