This archive report was first published on 19 December 2019.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha released the 2019 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam results, revealing a surprising trend. National schools, long thought to produce higher grades, failed to impress, with only 20,482 students qualifying for university admission. This accounts for a mere 16% of the total number of students who scored entry grades for university education.
According to the results, 47,949 students from extra county schools scored a grade of C+ and above, producing the highest number of students with direct university entry grades. This is a significant increase from last year, when 90,377 students scored C+ and above.
Magoha also debunked the myth that students who score less than 200 marks in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations are not capable of producing good results. In fact, students from county and sub-county schools, who were previously overlooked, posted exemplary results in the 2019 KCSE exams.
Sub-county schools produced the second highest number of students who will be joining university, outperforming county schools. Private schools also performed well, with 10,258 students scoring C+ and above.
Magoha expressed confidence that the examination system had restored the credibility of the country's national academic credentials. He said the examination system ensured only top performers joined university.
