The number of candidates who scored 400 marks and above in this year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) dropped 20.36 per cent compared to the previous test, weighed down by lower performance in Mathematics and Science.
Results released by Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu on Wednesday showed 9,443 candidates scored 400 marks in the exam compared with 11,857 in the 2021 KCPE and 8,091 in the 2020 cohort.
The drop attributed to lower performance in Sciences, Mathematics and Social Studies reverse the 46.5 per cent increase posted last year and looks set to ease pressure on the scramble for coveted secondary schools.
Those who scored more than 400 marks in the recent exams have been assured of places in the national schools.
The performance drop in Mathematics comes amid increased focus and investments in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses, seen as key to spurring innovation and industrialisation.
The data released shows that candidates posted improvements in English and Kiswahili languages, sign language and Kiswahili Insha.
“Six papers, English composition, Kenyan sign language composition, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Religious Education recorded a drop in performance in 2022 compared to 2021,” Mr Machogu said on Wednesday.
The candidate with the highest marks in this year’s KCPE scored 431. Some 1.2 million candidates are set to join Form One from this year’s cohort.
Over the past decade, tens of secondary schools have been upgraded to national status, joining the ranks of Alliance, Mang’u, Kenya High, Nairobi School, Maseno and Loreto Limuru Girls.
The status upgrade policy has since been sustained, growing the number of national schools to over 100.
Most KCPE candidates and their parents have, however, not changed their mindsets and still consider admission to the original national schools as the ultimate prize.
The infrastructure at the new national schools, they argue, does not match their newfound status.
This signals that candidates will square it out for a few places available in the ‘old national schools’ in about a fortnight.
Many candidates are expected to get admission to schools they did not choose or those that were not their first preference.
Kenya has in recent years heightened focus on STEM courses in a bid to build a bigger pool of professions in medicine, engineering, computer technology and other technical skills that are in short supply and needed to boost Kenya’s industrial and tech sectors.
Manufacturers have also said that STEM courses are key to encouraging a workforce built around critical thinking which is vital in speeding up the industrial revolution.
Kenya is banking on STEM courses to bolster its economic growth to mirror Asian giants such as China, Japan and South Korea.
The focus on STEM marks a shift from courses in liberal arts that have recorded a spike in the number of graduates amid struggles by the formal economy to create enough jobs for them.
Male candidates outdid their female colleagues in Mathematics, Science, and Social Sciences prompting Mr Machogu to order a probe into the disparities.
“I wish to direct the Quality Assurance and Standards to find ways of addressing the gaps that might be causing the performance of either gender as there seems to be a pattern where girls beat boys in specific subjects each year and vice versa,” Mr Machogu said.
The number of candidates who scored 300 marks and above also dropped two per cent to 307, 756.
Candidates who scored less than 100 marks dropped 38.12 per cent to 724 from 1,170 last year with the only increase recorded in those who scored between 200 and 299 rising 7.16 per cent to 619,593.
The 2021 KCPE was administered in a year where the General Elections disrupted learning at a time schools were compelled to undergo a crash programme in a bid to make up for the time that was lost because of the Coronavirus disruptions.
Learners were also out of school for a prolonged period following the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, prompting the government to implement the crash programme to recover the lost time.
The 2022 term one started on April 26, with schools closing for not more than two weeks each term.
The normal programme will resume from January 2023.
