The number of candidates who scored 400 marks and above in the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination dropped by 16.4 per cent for a second year in a row at a time the school calendar was interrupted by the long closure occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Of the 1,179,192 million pupils who sat for the national exams last month, 8,091 scored above 400, a drop from 9,673 in 2019.
“When the Covid-19 pandemic befell the country in March 2020, the education sector was one that got completely disoriented. The future of our 15 million basic education learners seemed thrown deep into turmoil,” Education Secretary George Magoha noted as he released the results on Thursday.
The top KCPE candidate scored 433 marks, seven points below 2019’s record of 440 marks.
Improvement
However, Prof Magoha said there was improved performance in mathematics, religious education, English composition, Kiswahili lugha, and Kenyan sign language objective.
He said female candidates did better in English, Kiswahili and sign language, while boys did well in mathematics, science and social studies.
The girls also outperformed boys garnering eight positions of the top 15.
Faith Kawee Mumo of Kari Mwailu Primary School scored 433 marks, followed by Yvette Nanzala Wesonga of Chogoria Girls Primary School and Angel Gakenia Muriithi from Maseno Girls Boarding School tying with 432 marks, held an all-female top three positions.
The number of boys who sat the exams were 590,450 pupils, or 50.07 per cent, and 588,742 or 49.93 per cent were girls, marking an increase in male and female candidates by 8.62 per cent and 9.25 per cent respectively.
Overall, 95,736 or 8.84 per cent more pupils sat the 2020 KCPE compared to 2019.
“I am impressed that public schools have shone in the 2020 KCPE, scooping 10 of the top 15 overall slots in the examination,” said Prof Magoha.
He said all the 1,179,192 candidates who sat the exam would be admitted to secondary schools under the government’s 100 per cent transition policy.
The 2020 KCPE results show that 282,090 candidates scored between 300 and 399 marks (out of a possible 500) — a 16.2 per cent increase from the previous year’s 242,821.
More than 75 per cent of the 1.17 million candidates who sat the exam scored 299 marks and below. The number of candidates who scored less than 100 marks decline by 78 per cent from 1,393 to 307.
“I wish to assure the country that the Ministry has already conducted an audit of all new and existing vacancies in all our private and public schools to enable us to admit all learners 21 under the Free Day Secondary Education programme,” said Prof Magoha.
Term 3
Prof Magoha said schools are scheduled to reopen for the Third Term on May 10 for all classes save for Grade Four and Form One.
“We are hopeful that we will open as scheduled although we continue monitoring the country’s Covid-19 situation and the schools’ preparedness to adhere to all Ministry of Health guidelines of managing the virus.”
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
