The number of candidates who scored the minimum university entry qualifications of mean Grade C+ and above was 88,929 (15.41 per cent) in the 2016 KCSE examination.
This is compared to 169,492 (32.23 per cent) in 2015.
Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i made the revelations in Mombasa Thursday when he released the 2016 KCSE examination results, as reported by mygov.go.ke.
The candidates were examined in 30 subjects using 72 papers. They were required to sit for a minimum of seven and a maximum of nine subjects.
The CS, however, said some candidates who did not sit for all the papers were not graded.
“I wish to state that there are a few candidates who have not been graded on account of not sitting all the minimum seven subjects as required,” he noted.
He said the 2016 KCSE written examination papers were taken over 18 days, from November 7-30, adding that during this period, the Council engaged the services of an estimated 74,810 contracted professionals compared with 2015 when 51,717 were engaged.
The professionals included 9,468 supervisors, 33,159 invigilators, 19,698 security officers, 2,290 Drivers, 9,157 centre managers (principals), 346 sub-county commissioners and 692 education officers.
“I must sincerely thank this group of dedicated Kenyans who worked round the clock to ensure that the administration of the examination was undertaken in accordance with the laid down rules and regulations that govern the supervision and invigilation of the KCSE examination,” he noted.
He explained that the marking of the examination was done between December 2-24 by 16,637 examiners who were accommodated in 25 marking centres.
“For the first time, these centres were all located in Nairobi and its surroundings in a move that greatly increased efficiency and effectiveness of the marking process. These examiners did a fantastic job and sometimes worked long hours to ensure they did their job professionally within the set deadlines,” he lauded the centres.
A total of 574,125 candidates sat the examination compared to 522,870 candidates in 2015. This represents an increase of 51,255 candidates (9.80 per cent).
Of the 574,125 candidates who sat this year's tests, 300,995 were male, while 273,130 were female, representing 52.43 per cent and 47.57 per cent of the total candidature respectively.
Nationally, the number of female candidates who have sat the KCSE examination has been lower than that of male candidates over the last seven years. The CS however said that the percentage increase of female candidates has been increasing steadily over that of male candidates in the last four years.
He said 11 counties had more female candidates than male in the 2016 KCSE meaning that the regions are doing a good job in enrolling girls in the education system.
“Although we do encourage all children to be enrolled in the school system, more effort is needed to break the cultural and regional barriers that have traditionally kept the girl child out of school,” he said.
Counties that had more female than male candidates in the 2016 KCSE examination included Taita Taveta, Kwale, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Kiambu, Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Uasin Gishu and Vihiga.
According to Matiang’i, counties with high gender disparities in favour of male candidates during the 2016 KCSE examination included Kisii, Homa Bay, Migori, Garissa, Kilifi, Siaya, Trans-nzoia, Busia, Mandera, Turkana and Narok.
“Isiolo County has had the lowest KCSE examination candidature for the last two years. There was an increase in candidature in all the counties during the year 2016 when compared to the year 2015, with the exception of Kwale County, which registered a decrease in candidature. This trend was also replicated in the year 2015,” he said.
The KCSE examination was taken in 9,154 examination centres across the country, compared to 8,646 examination centres in 2015. This represents an increase of 508 examination centres (5.88 per cent).
--mygov.go.ke