Nairobi, KENYA: Female candidates in the 2017 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations have performed way better than their male candidates out of the 615,773 candidates who sat for the exams which ended on November 29.
Education cabinet secretary Fred Matiangi speaking during the official release of the KCSE results at Nairobi School on Wednesday, said a good number of the schools that have done well are girl schools.
“Overall, the young ladies performed better than the young men. Allow me to single out Alliance Girls, Kenya High & Pangani Girls for their impressive performances. I would like to particularly applaud Pangani Girls for emerging the MOST improved school overall. ” Said Matiang’i.
Pangani Girls High School student Naomi Karimi emerged top with a mean score of 87.01, followed by Sharon Chepchumba of Moi Girls Eldoret who got 86.83.
Brian Maina of Alliance High School came in third with a mean score of 86.75.
He added that there was an improvement of only one extra A in the 2017 KCSE exam in A category from 141 As in 2016 to 142 in 2017.
2,714 students scored A-; a decline from 4645 in 2016.
“We have declined in terms of the number of students who have met the university requirements this year.There has been a significant improvement in Mathematics and English.” Added Matiang’i.
Matiangi said that in the 2017 KCSE exams some teachers were prematurely opening exam papers, saying that action had been taken on them.
“We are withholding the results of 10 schools pending further analysis of their scripts. We will be ready to provide a report on the 18th January 2018.” Said Matiang’i.
He said that private schools which will hire unregistered teachers risk de-registration forthwith and that the Kenya National Examinations Council will undergo more changes in a bid to build institutional reforms.
Speaking during the release of the results, Knec chair George Magoha, said that they have dealt decisively with any form of cheating in the 2017 national examinations, which now stands at minimum levels.
He insisted that teachers performance contracts must be implemented to attain a transformative change in the education sector.
He also applauded the government for allowing the council to work independently thus minimising hitches during the dispatch of examination materials to various stations and back to the headquarters.
The marking process encompassed 25 centers and was done between 17th of November to 17th of December.
Ministry of Education will implement President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive to have 3 million children especially the ones who completed the KCSE into the membership of NHIF scheme come January next year.
