There is concern over the increase in the number of candidates scoring a mean grade of E in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.
A total of 46,151 candidates scored a mean grade of E, the lowest grade possible. Of these, 26,578 were males and 19,573 females. In the 2020 examinations, 28,046 candidates scored an E mean grade.
Although details of the categories of schools where the E candidates studied were not officially released, most of them come from sub-county and county schools, exposing the inequality in schools as national and extra-county schools dominate the top charts.
A total of 1,138 candidates had a mean score of A, the top grade. The top school, Kapsabet High, according to a Nation analysis, accounted for 104 of these. The number of Es in this year’s examination accounted for 5.56 per cent of the candidates.
However, all hope is not lost for the students as they can pursue artisan courses and progress all the way to studying for doctorates through a progression programme established by the government.
Through a framework developed by the Kenya National Qualifications Authority, the students can start from Level One (primary certificate) and move up all the way to Level 10, the equivalent of a doctoral degree.
Although the number of candidates has increased, the number of Es scored is worryingly high. In 2015, at the height of cheating in national examinations, there were only 5,350.
In 2016, when Prof Magoha was the Kenya National Examinations Council chair, and Dr Fred Matiang’i, who was Education CS, adopted stringent reforms, the figure shot up to 33,399. The following year, it rose to 35,536 before dropping to 30,854 in 2018.
While releasing the results on Saturday, Prof Magoha called for more investment in technical and vocational education and training institutions as they admit the majority of KCSE candidates.
“We therefore need to invest more in TVET institutions where the bulk of our KCSE examination graduands will study,” he said.
