2020 KCPE results announced

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has announced the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) results from the Kenya National Examinations Council in Nairobi.

He said 590,450 or 50.07% of the candidates were boys and 588,742 (49.93 per cent) girls.

Isiolo, Meru, Vihiga, Kwale, Kisii, Kisumu, Kilifi, Bomet and Uasin-Gishu are among 20 counties that had the highest number of female candidates.

According to Prof Magoha, 12,000 candidates did not sit the exam while 26,000 candidates were under 12 years.

The highest number was aged between 13 and 14 years which is the appropriate age.

Overall performance improved

The highest mark dropped from 440 to 433  in 2020 while public schools clinched 10 out of 15 slots of the best candidates.  Girls took the first three top slots. 

They are: Mumo Faith from Karimwailu (433), Wesonga Nazala from Chogoria (432) and Muriithi Angel from Maseno - (432).

The fourth was a boy, Wanyonyi Samuel from Nzoia Sugar with 431 marks.

Public schools scooped 10 out of 15 slots of overall best candidates with girls taking eight of the slots.

Five papers including English composition, Kiswahili Lugha and Mathematics recorded an improvement. Five other subjects including English, Kiswahili Insha recorded a drop.

Female candidates performed better in English and Kiswahili Insha while male candidates performed better in Maths, Science and Social studies.

Some 8,091 candidates scored above 400 marks while  282,000 had between 300 and 399 marks with 589,00 scoring between  200 and 299 marks.

Prof Magoha said 2675 candidates with special needs sat the exam. Physical disabilities led the category.

The top nine candidates with Special Needs include and their scores are: Brian Otundo (420), Kibet Gibson (411), Kioko Joseph 409, Sibwa Blessings (409), Naomi Omare (409), Joseph Muia (407), Fridah Shurie (405), Fidel Odera (402) and Edgar Wilson (400).

Titus Musili from Kitui County was sent out of school for looking for lunch money and missed the English paper. The Ministry will consider his case.

Results will be collected from examination centres. For individual results, candidates can send index number followed by KCPE through a short SMS code to 20076.

Prof. Magoha said " We are scheduled to open all schools on May 10, 2021, except for Grade 4 and Form 1. Inspection to take place before the re-opening date."

He said the performance of the 2020 KCPE candidates was commendable with no remarkable difference from the previous years. Entry assessment tests when schools resumed played a key role in assessing the preparedness of the candidates, he added.

All candidates will transition to secondary schools, said the CS adding that the Ministry of Education had already conducted an audit of vacancies in both private and public secondary schools.

Form one selection, he added,  will be based on the choice of the learner and will start on May 28, 2021, with 9,000 scholarships being available under the Elimu Scholarship program.

Security was heightened to tame cases of irregularities. Five cases of impersonation, he said, were detected with seven candidates found with notes colloquially known as mwakenya.

Prof Magoha said the president had directed that "we release all the results but those involved in malpractice will be severely punished."

He said it looked like the unimaginable thing to do being the first time to release results in April when the country trying to manage Covid-19.

According to ProfMagoha, "when Covid-19 struck, the education sector was completely disoriented.... we were at crossroads. Many people predicted doom and gloom. After soul searching with education stakeholders, we decided to bite the bullet. Many claimed we were risking the lives of learners and using them as guinea pigs."

Said Prof Magoha: "We chose to make decisions for which we were prepared to take full responsibility. We are here to celebrate the results of those risky decisions."

The situation last year

2019 KCPE attracted 1, 083, 456 candidates in over 27,000 exam centres across the country. Of those, 525, 070 were female and 527, 294 males.

The counties of Nairobi, Kakamega, and Nakuru had the highest candidature while Lamu, Isiolo, and Samburu registered the lowest.

Invigilation at the centres boasted over 28,000 supervisors while a total of 5,785 examiners marked the exam.

Girls candidates performed better than boys in English, Kiswahili, and Sign language -  and were registered more in 18 counties. Males out-shined their counterparts in Maths, Science, and Social Studies.

English, Swahili, Sign language and Social Studies were the most improved subjects compared to 2018’s KCPE while Mathematics and Science registered a decrease in performance.

Of the over one million candidates, 9,770 scored over 400 marks while 243,320 attained between 301 and 400 marks. 586,886 pupils attained between 201 and 300 marks while 262,307 candidates had between 101 and 200 marks. On the other hand, 1,173 pupils had 100 marks and below.

Special needs candidates (2,407) performed better than in 2018 with the top candidate scoring 414 marks.

56 teachers were investigated over malpractice.

In the 2018 KCPE results announced by then-Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, 1,052, 364 sat for the exam.

527, 294 candidates were boys and 525, 070 were girls.

Female candidates were registered more in twenty-three out of 47 counties and performed better in English, Kiswahili, and sign language. Boys did better in Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Religious Education.

Two candidates emerged top, scoring 453 marks out of 500 while 2, 273 students scored above 400 marks. 234, 573 scored 301 to 400 marks while 574, 927 candidates scored 200 to 300 marks. Those who had below 100 marks were 2,177.

2,495 candidates with special needs sat the exam with the top student scoring 446.

Four candidates were investigated and found guilty of impersonation and their results cancelled but allowed to write the exam in 2019.