Female candidates performed better than their male counterparts in the 2017 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), according to Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i. Speaking at Nairobi School while releasing the 2017 KCSE exam results, CS Matiang’i noted that female candidates performed way better, “In six subjects particularly, female candidates have performed way better than the male candidates,” he said. This is clearly evident given that the top ten best candidates list, led by top candidate Naomi Kawiri Karimi, is dominated by female candidates, with only four male students.
He noted that Pangani Girls High School is the most improved school, “The school that impresses all of us is Pangani Girls, it’s the most improved school in performance this year,” said Matiang’i. Three of the top ten candidates, including the leading candidate, are from Pangani.
The number of As has improved by one, from 141 in 2016 to 142. The number of A-minuses dropped significantly, however, “In 2016, we had a total of 4645 A minuses, this declined by almost half because this year we have 2,714. However, when you look at other grades there is a significant improvement,” he said, adding that there has also been a decline in the number of students who have met University requirements.
In terms of subject improvements, CS Matiang’i said there has been a significant improvement in this year’s KCSE performance in Mathematics and English, “In total, we have noticed 13 subjects, among them English and Mathematics, Geography where there has been significant improvement this year. We point out there is room for improvement in other areas like Sciences.”
The top five performing KCSE candidates are;
Karimi Naomi Kawira-Pangani Girls High School, 87.011
Sharon Chepchumba-Moi Girls Eldoret, 86.830
Kamau Brian Maina-Alliance High School, 86.757
Odero Donata-Lenana School, 86.561
Harriett Mukee-Mary Hill Girls, 85.956