Straight As increase as boys outshine girls in 11 subjects
Education
By
Stephen Rutto
| Jan 10, 2026
There were more than 239 candidates who scored A plains in the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination released yesterday.
Education Cabinet (CS) Julius Ogamba said during the release of the results for 993,226 students at the AIC Chebisaas High School in Eldoret that 1,932 KCSE candidates produced straight As in the 2025 tests compared to 1,639 in 2024.
The exams were released as phase out 8-4-4 curriculum neared completion. Two more groups of candidates (2026 and 2027) will sit for KCSE for the system is completely replaced by the Competency-Based Education at the secondary level.
Out of the total 1,932 straight As, 1,526 sat their KCSE examinations at national schools while extra County schools produced 197 and Private Schools (185).
“Sub-County Schools produced more candidates in the category of C+ and above compared to County Schools, accounting for 72,699 and 36,600 respectively,” said Ogamba.
“There were 1,932 (0.19 percent) candidates who obtained an overall mean grade A (plain) in the year 2025 KCSE examination. This is an improvement as compared to 1,693 (0.18 percent) candidates in 2024,” Ogamba said.
At the same time, the 2025 results showed that more KCSE candidates attained direct university entry.
Two hundred and seventy thousand, seven hundred and fifteen (270,715) achieved C+ and above compared to 246,391 in 2024, meaning that universities should be ready to receive an additional 24,324 students this year.
“The number of candidates with direct university entry qualification of mean grade C+ and above was 270,715 (27.18 percent) in the year 2025 KCSE examination. This is an improvement compared to 246,391 (25.53 percent) in 2024,” he said.
He added: “The number of candidates with grade C- (minus) and above was 507,131 (50.92 percent) in the year 2025 KCSE examination compared to 476,889 (49.41 percent) in 2024. The number of candidates attaining a pass grade (grade D+ and above) was 634,082 (63.67 percent) in the year 2025 KCSE examination compared to 605,774 (62.76 percent) in 2024.”
Boys performed well in more subjects compared to girls in the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations released yesterday in Eldoret.
Ogamba said boys recorded better mean scores in 11 subjects while their female counterparts commanded the lead in six subjects.
The results released by CS Ogamba revealed that boys delivered better results compared to their female counterparts in the sciences.
“Male candidates recorded better mean score performance than female candidates in 11 subjects: Mathematics Alternatives A and B, Biology and Biology for the Blind, Chemistry, General Science, History & Government, Geography, IRE, Building and Construction and Business Studies,” Ogamba said during the release.
However, the boys were outshined by girls in the languages and some humanities.
Ogamba said girls outperformed boys in six subjects including languages, Home Science, Christian Religious Education and Art and Design.
“Female candidates recorded better mean score performance than male candidates in the following six subjects: English, Kiswahili, Kenyan Sign Language, Home Science, CRE and Art and Design,” said the CS.
The performance of male candidates, Ogamba said, was comparable to their female counterparts in the seven subjects including Physics, Agriculture, Computer Studies, French, German, Arabic and Music.
“The number of female candidates registered in the f five subjects was too small to allow for a meaningful comparison of performance with male candidates: Metalwork, Power Mechanics, Electricity, Drawing & Design and Aviation Technology,” Ogamba noted.
Further, there was an increase in the number of candidates aged 16 years and below in last year’s KCSE, with the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) noting an increase of underage students who completed form four from 20,546 (2.13 percent) in 2024 to 26,391 (2.65 percent) last year.
The highest percentage of candidates registered for the 2025 KCSE examination were within the appropriate age bracket of between 17 to 19 years, constituting 716,048 (72.02 percent) of the total candidature, Ogamba said.
It was the second time Eldoret was hosting the release of KCSE results after former CS Ezekiel Machogu announced the 2023 outcome at Moi Girls High School.