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Teachers at Kisumu Girls High School celebrate good performance \/FAITH MATETE<\/p>\nTeachers at Kisumu Girls High School celebrate good performance \/FAITH MATETE<\/p>\n
Schools from Mt Kenya and western
\nKenya regions have dominated the crucial C+ and above threshold, the minimum
\nqualification for direct university admission.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 2025 Kenya National Examinations Council
\nEssential Statistics report shows counties in Mt Kenya and Western regions
\ncollectively account for a disproportionately large share of candidates scoring
\nC+ and above.<\/p>\n
This is despite representing a smaller fraction of
\ntotal candidature nationally. These counties include Kiambu, Nyeri, Murang\u2019a,
\nKirinyaga and parts of Nakuru in Central and Kakamega, Vihiga and Bungoma in
\nWestern.<\/p>\n
In last year\u2019s exam, 27.2 per cent of all KCSE candidates attained C+
\nand above, a slight improvement from 25.5 per cent recorded in 2024.<\/p>\n
A total of 993,226 candidates sat the examination.
\nOut of this, 1,932 candidates, representing 0.19 per cent, attained the overall
\nmean grade of A.<\/p>\n
National schools produced the highest number of
\ncandidates with a mean grade of A at 1,526, followed by extra-county schools
\nwith 197 and private schools with 185.<\/p>\n
Overall, the number of candidates who attained the
\ndirect university entry qualification of mean grade C+ (plus) and above stood at 270,715, representing 27.18 per
\ncent, while those who scored mean grade C\u2013 (minus) and above totalled 507,131, or 50.92 per cent.<\/p>\n
The high-performing counties, however, cluster
\noverwhelmingly in Mt Kenya and Western Kenya, regions historically associated
\nwith stronger schooling infrastructure, higher transition rates and denser
\nconcentrations of national and extra-county schools.<\/p>\n
In contrast, counties in arid and semi-arid lands
\nand parts of the Coast continue to record significantly lower proportions of
\ncandidates meeting the university cut-off, weighed down by over-age
\ncandidature, school interruptions and resource gaps. These counties include
\nTurkana, Garissa, Mandera, Wajir, Tana River and Kwale.<\/p>\n
The data further shows national and extra-county
\nschools, which produce the majority of C+ (plus) and above grades, are disproportionately located in
\nMt Kenya, Rift Valley and Western regions.<\/p>\n
National schools produced 85 per cent of A (plain) to C+ (plus)
\ngrades, extra-county schools contributed 51 per cent to the grades bracket,
\nwhile subcounty schools, which host the majority of candidates nationally,
\nproduced the bulk of D and below grades<\/p>\n
The results come amidst a national debate among
\nKenyans regarding disproportionate development of school infrastructure in
\ndifferent regions, a discussion that was triggered by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.<\/p>\n
Gachagua last weekend claimed that despite many of
\nthe top national and extra-county being located in Mt Kenya, students from the
\nregion were being admitted in less privileged and resourced schools in other
\nparts of the country. In this regard, he argued that\u00a0\u00a0that some top
\nnational schools such as Alliance High School and Mang\u2019u, which are in Kaimbu county, should prioritise students from the region.<\/p>\n
The remarks have sparked vigorous public
\ndiscussion, with President William Ruto accusing him of tribal reasoning.<\/p>\n
The former DP\u2019s comments come against the backdrop of long-running
\nconcerns about marginalisation and disproportionate resource allocation.<\/p>\n
Supporters of his position argue that
\nleaders in Mt Kenya region have invested their National Government
\nConstituencies Development Fund\u00a0resources
\nto improve the status of the schools in the region, and thus students from the
\nareas should be the first beneficiaries.<\/p>\n
Critics, however, have argued that Gachagua\u2019s
\nargument is tribal and that national schools should prioritise the top brains
\nfrom across the country.<\/p>\n
Knec figures show that
\nwhile national schools produced more of the top grades, extra-county and county
\nschools in Mt Kenya also outperformed their counterparts in many other regions,
\ncontributing significantly to the pool of C+ and above candidates.<\/p>\n
For instance, Kiambu, Murang\u2019a and Nyeri posted
\nhigh candidature numbers and strong pass rates.<\/p>\n
In Western, Kakamega and Vihiga counties produced
\nlarge numbers of university-eligible candidates despite operating with fewer
\nnational schools than Central.<\/p>\n
While Mt Kenya and Western regions dominate the C+ (plus) and above category, the same data underscores
\npersistent marginalisation elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile arid and
\nsemi-arid counties such as Turkana, Garissa,
\nMandera and Wajir continue to record low transition to university eligibility,
\ncompounded by high proportions of over-age candidates and male-dominated
\nenrolment.<\/p>\n
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