Shock as only 141 students score KCSE ‘A’

Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i Thursday sustained his shock therapy for the education sector with the release of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination results within a month of sitting.

Even more shocking was the steep drop in the number of candidates who scored straight As to 141 from last year’s 2,685 – an outcome Dr Matiang’i attributed to the stringent measures it took to curb cheating this year.

Dr Matiang’i, who released the results at Mombasa’s Shimo La Tewa High School, said 4,645 students had scored A-, down from 12,069 last year. The number of candidates who scored B+, B, B- and C+ also dropped by nearly half to 84,143 from last year’s 154,738 – an outcome that cast serious doubts on the credibility of past examinations.

The results showed that 88,929 (or 15.41 per cent of the 574,125 candidates) students attained the minimum university entry qualification of C+ this year compared to 169,492 (or 32.23 per cent of 522,870) last year.

Dr Matiang’i said this year’s results, which he released just a month after the candidates sat the last paper, were a “true reflection of what the candidates deserved.”

“There were no cases of irregularities this year. I can vouch for the results as an accurate picture of what each candidate scored. There was no leakage, help or massaging of figures as has been the case previously,” he said.

The selection of students to join Kenya’s public universities is often a numbers game (depending on available space), making many students with B- and C+ to routinely miss slots. This year, for instance, the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (Kuccps) selected 74,389 students to join public universities.

This meant that only 4,000 of the 99,351 students who scored B- and C+ and are -- at least on paper - meant to join university, made the cut.

If a similar number of students is selected this year, only 14,540 of 88,929 candidates who scored C+ and above will miss a place in public universities, a record achievement.

Dr Matiang’i, without naming particular schools, highlighted a particular institution, where 212 students scored straight As last year but could only manage just two this year – a remark that was understood to mean many schools are in for a rude shock this year.

Kabarak High School was the best performer in 2015 with 202 of its 289 candidates scoring an A. Maseno School came in second after half of its 285 candidates scored the top grade.

Dr Matiang’i commended Alliance Girls High School and Kenya High School for posting 25 and 21 As respectively, saying their consistency over the years had proved the legitimacy of their grades.

This year’s exams were conducted under a tightly-controlled regime meant to curb cheating which had become the norm in both secondary and primary school tests.

The government banned all social activities in the third term — including prayer days, visiting, half term breaks and sports days ostensibly to minimise contact between candidates and outsiders believed to be supplying leaked exam papers.

Geometrical sets and clipboards were also outlawed in KCSE exam rooms while examination papers were stored in heavily-guarded containers whose access was limited to designated government officials.

This year’s exams were also marked in record time following a decision to centralise all 25 marking centres in Nairobi for easy monitoring and real-time recording of results.

“As a result, we are not cancelling results of any candidate compared with 2015 when 5,101 candidates were disqualified,” said Dr Matiang’i.

Three teachers contracted to mark the exams were dropped due to “misbehaviour,” the CS said.

These teachers’ files, alongside others involved in malpractices during the exam period, will be forwarded to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) in 30 days for disciplinary action.

“Change we must. Reform we must. It will be painful but it has to be done. We cannot continue playing games with the future of our children,” said Dr Matiang’i.