This archive report was first published on 19 November 2019.
On October 29-31, 2019, a total of 1,083,456 candidates sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams, a 3% increase from the 1,052,344 candidates who sat for the exams the previous year.
According to the results announced by Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha, the number of candidates who scored 401 marks and above dropped from 11,559 in 2018 to 9,770 in 2019.
However, there was a notable increase in the number of candidates who scored between 301 and 400 marks, with 243,320 candidates achieving this feat in 2019, compared to 223,862 in 2018.
Female candidates outperformed their male counterparts in English, Kiswahili, and Kenya Sign Language, but lagged behind in maths, science, and social studies.
Prof Magoha attributed the improvement in four out of seven subjects - English, Kiswahili, Kenya Sign Language, and Social Studies - to the government's efforts to improve education infrastructure, with Sh8 billion allocated for this purpose.
As part of the government's 100% transition program, the over one million pupils who sat for the exams will proceed to secondary school.
