Education CS Fred Matiang’i has officially released the KCPE 2016 results. The release comes after stringent measures were put in place by the education ministry to curb exam malpractices and ensure credible handling of exam papers and results.
The top pupil garnered 436 marks, a drop from last year’s registered top marks, which was 449. The top special needs student scored 421 marks. The CS said the top marks scored this year would not rank anywhere in the top 90 of last year’s KCPE results.
5190 pupils scored over 400 marks, compared to over 7000 pupils last year, signifying a significant drop in the high marks tally. CS Matiang’i insisted that there was no leakage, “The examination did not leak anywhere at all,” he said, adding that there were only 21 incidents of malpractice or attempted malpractice countrywide, giving an example of an incident in Wajir, where phones were collected before exams began.
He, however, said no results will be cancelled this time round, “For the first time in the history of KCPE, there is no candidate whose results are going to be cancelled.”
The CS said he wasn’t ready to apologise again after last year’s cheating debacle, citing the cooperation he received from his counterparts as a major factor in determining this year’s exam process was a success, “I am seeing a very interesting cooperation across the board. I am very grateful for the cooperation of my sister Nancy Macharia and the TSC. I hope moving forward we build on these results in what we do.”
On form one selection, he said the process is meant to begin immediately, “Once we input the data, our Form One selection will be even faster,” he said, “We want to have Form One students report by January 9th.” All students who have scored 400 marks and above will join national schools according to the CS, and next year’s exam fees will be fully catered for by the government.