On 21 November 2018, the Kenya National Examinations Council said the number of over-age candidates in the secondary school examination had gone up, with 32,515 candidates aged 19 and above sitting the tests compared with 30,306 in 2017.
The figures were part of KNEC’s analysis of the results released on Monday. The council said the trend showed that a sizeable number of learners were still taking the exam after the age when they would ordinarily be expected to have completed secondary school.
At the same time, the age breakdown showed that 125,502 candidates were between 17 and 18 years old. Another 411,059 were aged 15 and 16, while 323,559 were 14. KNEC also recorded 152,329 candidates aged 13 and 15,747 pupils aged 12.
Among the candidates was Veronica Kaleso, a 68-year-old woman from Makueni County.
Turkana County had the highest number of over-age candidates at 3,470, followed by Kilifi with 3,238. Both counties had also posted high numbers in 2017, when Turkana recorded 3,199 and Kilifi 2,618.
Garissa County had 2,057 over-age candidates, down slightly from 2,099 in 2017.
The same report showed that under-age candidates were still being registered despite government policy. Last year, candidates aged 12 numbered 16,021. Three years ago, the government said children below the required age should not be allowed to sit the tests, and the policy says a child should enter Standard One at not less than six years old.
Bungoma County had the highest number of under-age candidates this year at 1,652, up from 1,570 in 2017. Mandera had the lowest number at 70.
KNEC also released performance data for special needs candidates. Eight scored more than 400 marks out of 500, while 209 scored between 301 and 400. Another 701 scored between 201 and 300, 1,412 scored between 101 and 200, and 76 scored 100 and below.
The ministry further said 589 prisoners sat the papers this year, compared with 543 in 2017.
