Grade A plain double in released results

Parents and relatives of Omwega Maogoto Leon who scored an A plain celebrate him at their Suneka home in Kisii County. [Sammy Omingo/Standard]

The number of candidates who scored grade A (plain) in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations is twice that of last year’s.

Some 627 candidates in the 2019 examinations scored A (plain) compared to 315 who got the same grade in 2018.

Similarly, the number of candidates who posted grade A- (minus) also shot up from 3,417 in 2018 to 5,796 this year.

Candidates who met the C+ cut-off point for university entry also increased to 125,746 from last year’s 90,377.

The number of grade As had drastically dropped following reforms and major crackdown against cheating in examinations that was initiated by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i when he headed the Education docket.

In the past three years, the number of students posting quality grades has been on an upward trajectory.

Yesterday, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha, while releasing the results, said the increase in quality grades was a confirmation that candidates were ready to work hard and score genuine grades, without engaging in malpractices.

“This analysis explains why I started my speech by asking Kenyans to believe in the reforms that we have been conducting.

“That the overall performance of candidates has been increasing since we reformed the system of administering the examinations means that candidates have settled down to working hard on their own – under the leadership of their teachers – to prepare for examinations,” said Prof Magoha.

The data released by the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) revealed that sub-county schools had also continued to post good grades, debunking the myth that such could only be obtained by students in national and extra-county schools.

National schools with Es

For instance, national schools had 338 candidates with grade E, compared to 279 posted by extra-county schools. There were also four candidates with A plain in sub-county schools. County schools had none.

The data further shows that female candidates performed better than male ones in at least eight subjects.

The female candidates did better in English, Kiswahili, Christian Religious Education, Home Science, Art and Design, German and Kenya Sign Language.

 

A total 1,672 candidates with special needs registered for the 2019 KCSE examination, but only 1,499 did them.

The highest number of candidates with special needs who sat the examination comprised those who were physically impaired at 651.

Four the 651 scored a mean grade of A- (minus), with 127 scoring a mean grade of C+ or above.

Also, 16 subjects recorded a significant improvement in performance, compared to 14 in 2018. However, 11 subjects recorded a decline in performance in 2019 compared with 12 in 2017.

Critical subjects

English, Kiswahili, Chemistry, Biology and Physics are some of the critical subjects where performance significantly shot up in 2019 compared to 2018.

The number of candidates who sat the examinations increased to 667,222 from 660,204 in 2018.

Up to 355,782 (51.03 per cent) of those who sat the examinations were male, while 341,440 (48.97 per cent) were female, a near gender parity.

Some 17 counties had more female than male candidates in the 2019 KCSE examination compared to 18 counties in 2018.

These counties are Meru, Vihiga, Kiambu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Nyandarua, Tharaka Nithi, Kisumu, Uasin Gishu, Murang’a, Machakos, Kitui, Taita Taveta, Makueni, Kirinyaga, Kakamega, Kwale, and Nandi.

The examination was taken in 10,287 centres countrywide compared to 10,078 last year.

Related Topics

Grade As 2019 KCSE