After KJSEA results, deal with challenges

The release of national examination results is always a source of excitement as the performance is analysed and praise heaped on those who excel. The Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) was meant to deviate from the past competitive examination ranking.

Girls outperformed boys in the 2025 KJSEA, whose results were released yesterday. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba says the females performed better than their male counterparts in 10 of the 12 subjects. This is food for thought, but the real test now is to go past savouring this watershed moment in the Competency-Based Education and focusing on the way forward.

Being the first such examination, candidates, teachers and parents are eager to see the grading and computation of the results. However, the 1.1 million children who sat the assessment will have their results presented in a different format from what the country was used to.

No certificates issued

The exact marks the candidates scored will not be revealed to them, but will be used to place them in different bands – Exceeding Expectation, Meeting Expectation, Approaching Expectation and Below Expectation.

The Kenya National Examinations Council will submit the results to the Ministry of Education for placement of learners in senior school. There will be no certificates issued to mark the end of junior school education. According to Mr Ogamba, the award of certificates at the primary school level in the 8-4-4 system resulted in undue competition and discouraged children who, at a young age, would be considered failures, yet they had not had an opportunity to explore education and find their niche.

The focus should now be on the placement in senior schools. The government must address challenges such as teacher shortages and ill-equipped schools. The problems that have plagued junior school must also be addressed to ease studies for the next group.