A total of 2,060 candidates who sat for the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations scored less than 100 marks.
In 2022, 724 candidates scored less than 100 marks compared to the 1,170 candidates who scored the same in 2021.
According to Education CS Ezekiel Machogu, 8,525 candidates scored 400 marks and above, a slight decline from the 9,443 candidates who managed the same in the 2022 KCPE examinations.
The CS said 352,782 candidates scored between 300 and 399 marks, representing 24.29 percent of the total number of candidates.
Moving down the score range, Mr Machogu said 658,278 candidates scored between 200 and 299 marks, representing 46.49 per cent.
Despite this being a significant proportion, the Cabinet Secretary expressed concern at the lower performance compared to the previous year, which accounted for 48.49 percent of the candidates.
Diverse academic achievements
Furthermore, 383,025 candidates scored between 100 and 199 marks in the 2023 KCPE exams, representing 27.05 per cent of the total candidates.
While shedding light on the diverse academic achievements of the candidates, the CS emphasised the need for a comprehensive understanding of success beyond numerical scores.
"In terms of gender, the performance of male and female candidates was comparable in Social Studies and Religious Education. However, female candidates performed slightly better than their male counterparts in English, Kiswahili and Kenyan Sign Language. Male candidates slightly outperformed their female counterparts in mathematics and science,” said the CS.
