This archive report was first published on 20 December 2019.
Kenya's Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha released the 2019 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results on Wednesday, showing a mixed bag for public schools in the Coast region.
While public schools in Taita Taveta, Kwale, and Kilifi counties showed improvement, their grades were not enough to earn them top spots on the national ranking list.
Private schools, however, dominated the top positions, with Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed topping the list with a mean score of 9.11, followed by Memon High School with 8.27 and Qubaa Muslim School with 8.1 points.
Sheikh Khalifa's deputy principal, Rishard Rajab, attributed the school's success to divine intervention, saying, "This is a great achievement. We thank God for the wonderful results."
On the other hand, Memon High School recorded a drop in performance, with a mean score of 8.27 compared to last year's 8.32.
At the Coast, the top-performing public schools were Kenyatta High, Kwale High, Matuga Girls, Bahari, Bura, Mama Ngina, and Dr Aggrey.
Among the public schools, Bahari Girls High School in Kilifi showed significant improvement, rising from a mean score of 6.304 in 2018 to 7.4366 this year.
Shimo la Tewa, a public school in the region, maintained its mean grade of 6.2, but saw an increase in the number of students qualifying for university admission.
Deputy Principal Nyakundi Morekwa of Dr Aggrey Boys High School attributed the school's improvement to cooperation between teachers, students, parents, and other stakeholders.
"We intend to enhance the strategies used this year to do even better next year. The number of students who qualify for university has risen from 74 last year to 96 this year. This is a job well done," said Mr Morekwa.
