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Faith Mumo Kawee emerged the best student in the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination, having scored 433 out of the possible 500 marks

Faith, from Kari-Mwailu Primary, a public school in Makueni County, led 1,179,191 candidates in an exam that was conducted under extraordinary circumstances as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The top achiever, who spoke to People Daily from her family home in Malaa, Joska area in the outskirts of Nairobi, was over the moon when she received the news that she had topped the country in the results released yesterday.

“I am very excited about the marks that I have got. I feel very exited about it. Although I was expecting 450 marks, I am still happy about what I have achieved,” she said as she joined family members in celebrations.

She was followed by Wesonga Yvette Nanzala of Chogoria Girls Primary School and Muriithi Angel Gakenia of Maseno Girls Boarding School who both scored 432 marks.

The fourth best students were Wanyonyi Samuel Makhanu of Nzoia Sugar, Castro Williams of Crystal Hill Academy and Tarus Chepkemboi Laureen of St Mathew’s Septonok, all who scored 431 marks.

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha, who released the results, said female candidates in public schools had performed well in the exam.

Top ten

He said the overall performance improved this year compared to 2019, as little known public schools produced the top candidates.

“Although the mark of the highest candidate dropped from 440 to 433 in 2020, the mean average performance and quality of grades for all candidates is higher,” said the CS, when he released the results at Mitihani House, Nairobi.

For instance, whereas 1,393 candidates scored between 01 and 99 marks in the 2019 KCPE, the CS said the number went down to 307 this year, an indication that most candidates scored better grades than the previous year.

The CS said he was particularly impressed that public schools had shone in the exam, scooping 10 of the top 15 first slots. Similarly, of the top 15 places, female candidates took eight slots, including the first three overall positions.

Five papers recorded an improvement in performance compared to 2019, namely English Composition, Kiswahili Lugha, Kenyan Sign Language Objective, Mathematics and Religious Education.

Five papers, English Language, Kiswahili Insha, Kenyan Sign Language Composition, Science and Social Studies, recorded a drop in performance this year compared to 2019.

In terms of gender, the CS said female candidates had performed slightly better than their male counterparts in English, Kiswahili and Kenyan Sign Language.

Male candidates outshone their female counterparts in Mathematics, Science and Social Studies and Religious Education.

“I wish to commend the teachers, parents and candidates for this good performance achieved during a very difficult period,” said the CS.

A total of 8,091 candidates scored 400 marks and above, a drop from 2019 when 9,673 learners fell in the bracket.

There were 282,090 students who scored between 300–399 marks compared to 242,821 in 2019, while 589,027 scored between 200 and 299 compared to 566,069 candidates in 2019.

Some 299,677 candidates scored between 100-199 marks while 307 managed 01–99 compared to 1,393 in 2019.

At least 12,000 did not sit the exams last month compared to 5,530 who missed in 2019.

For Special Needs Education (SNE), the CS said the ministry remains committed to assisting learners with unique needs to do well in their studies.

“The highest special needs candidate scored 420 marks compared with the top candidate who scored 414 marks in 2019 KCPE out of the possible 500 marks.

This improvement further underscores the fact that performance in the 2020 KCPE was commendable and that Special Needs Education (SNE) children, given a fair and conducive environment, can excel,” said Magoha.

The top candidate in the country with Special Needs is Brandon Otundo from Set Green Hill Academy, who scored 420 marks. 

Regarding exam irregularities, the CS said the government sustained its robust security arrangements through the Multi-Sectoral Examinations Monitoring Team.

Five cases of impersonation were detected during the examination process while seven candidates were found in possession of pre-prepared notes in examination rooms.

“Government measures ensured that cases of irregularities during the sitting of the examinations, and during the marking process, were either stamped out or nipped in the bud before they could happen,” the CS stated.

However, he said that following presidential intervention all candidates will receive their results, including those involved in irregularities.

“The ministry had initially decided not to release results for the involved students, but President Uhuru Kenyatta pronounced himself on the same and we will release all the results but the staff who allowed this to happen will be severely punished,” Magoha said.

He also said the ministry will immediately start preparations to mount the 2021 KCPE and KCSE examinations, which will be administered early next year.

The CS mentioned a unique case of a candidate, Titus Musili from Kaunguni Primary school in Kitui who had been sent home from school on “flimsy” grounds and ended up missing the English Composition paper.

“I had to intervene and order that he return to the examination room and I can assure the country that he completed his examinations and he is among the candidates who will receive their results,” the CS said.

More girls

He announced that the more than one million candidates who sat the examination in 28,460 centres had qualified to be admitted to secondary schools.

Of these candidates, 590,450 (50.07 per cent) were boys and 588,742 (49.93 per cent) girls.

According to the data, 20 counties registered more female than male candidates, namely Isiolo, Meru, Vihiga, Kakamega, Busia, Nairobi, Kwale, Elgeyo Marakwet, Siaya, Tharaka Nithi, Kisii, Kisumu, Bungoma, Kilifi, Lamu, Bomet, Mombasa, Uasin Gishu, Makueni and Migori. This is an increase from 18 counties that registered more female candidates in 2019. 

The number of registered candidates who were 12 years and below increased from 20,086 in 2019 to 26,378 in 2020.

The counties which had the highest entry for candidates who were 12 years and below were West Pokot (999), Bomet (1,595), Baringo (1,013), Kericho (1,469), and Bungoma (2,556).

The highest number of candidates were in the appropriate age bracket of 13-14 years, 806,720, a trend which the CS said has been replicated in the last five years.

The counties with the highest cases of candidates who were 19 years and above were Turkana (3,062), Garissa (1,680), Kwale (2,441), Kilifi (3,672), and Busia (1,692).

Magoha announced that schools will reopen for the third term on May 10, except for Grade 4 and those who sat their KCPE exam last month.

He said the government is hopeful that schools will open as scheduled though it will continue to monitor the country’s Covid-19 situation and schools’ preparedness to adhere to all Ministry of Health guidelines for managing the virus.

“We re-organised term dates in a manner that would help us recover the lost time,” said the CS.

Covid deaths

He disclosed that President had directed that all teachers and support staff in schools be allowed to take the Covid-19 vaccine as part of measures to ensure that schools are safe from the virus.

Teachers Service Commission (TSC) Secretary Nancy Macharia said the exam involved  28,467 centre managers, 28, 711 supervisors, 72,360 invigilators and 4,756 examiners.

“I wish to acknowledge and thank all the 218,608 primary school teachers who prepared these candidates for the examinations. Clearly, this was a daunting task given that the preparations took place at a time our country was battling with Covid-19 effects,” she said.

Primary schools have lost 154 teachers to Covid-19 including three deputy head teachers and eight head teachers.