KCSE results improve but girls slide

At position four nationwide, Fredrick Constant Oduol, former student of Starehe Boys Centre celebrates with students after the KCSE results were announced on March 02 2010.

What you need to know:

  • Performance has improved, 81,048 managed the C+ needed to qualify for university, a 24.27% increase over previous year.
  • Number of candidates who took examinations in hospital has grown to 115 from 80 in 2008. Main reason being maternity.
  • 720,000 text messages sent to the examinations phone service to query results.
  • Concern over girls' performance, none makes it to top 10.

The Minister for Education Prof Sam Ongeri has released the 2009 secondary school examination results and reported an improved performance.

A total of 81,048 candidates scored at least an aggregate of C+, which is the minimum grade required to qualify for university admission.

Prof Ongeri, releasing the results on Tuesday at the Kenya Institute of Education in Nairobi, said this improvement represented a 24.27 per cent increase over the previous year. A total of 330,000 sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations in 2009.

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Gender disparity was isolated as a major concern and the minister said parents should be persuaded to keep their daughters in school. No girl made it into the top ten candidates.

The number of candidates who took examinations in hospital rose to 115 from 80 in 2008. He said the main reason being was maternity resulting from sexual molestation.

"We will not spare any effort to deal with errant teachers involved in this," he said.

Prof Ongeri said while there was improvement in the overall performance, his ministry had outlined several strategies to ensure better quality. He outlined seven action points for this:

a) Improve secondary school science laboratories through targeted grants for construction and equipment.
b) Institutionalise in-service training to upgrade skills of science and mathematics teachers.
c) Provide capacity building for field officers and head teachers to enable them support curriculum development.
d) Recruit more quality assurance officers.
e) Conduct skills upgrade courses for teachers involved in subjects in which students perform poorly.
f) Improve governance and accountability.
g) Mainstream use of computers in secondary education.

A total of 1,171 candidates in 69 schools have been penalised for cheating. Prof Ongeri said most of the examination irregularities involved use of pre-prepared notes, mobile phones, and sneaking of note books into the rooms.

LIST OF TOP TEN CANDIDATES NATIONALLY

  1. GATHUKU DAVID NDUNG'U, 87.26857, MANGU HIGH SCHOOL
  2. OMANGI TREVOR MOKAYA, 87.25143, MASENO SCHOOL
  3. TONUI HILLARY KIPKIRUI, 87.25043, ALLIANCE HIGH SCHOOL
  4. ODUOL FREDRICK CONSTANT, 87.223, STAREHE BOYS CENTRE & SCHOOL
  5. KIAMBATI KENNETH KOOME, 87.20371, ALLIANCE HIGH SCHOOL
  6. WEKESA EDWIN MAGEMA, 87.199, WEIWEI SECONDARY SCHOOL
  7. KOGIE PATRICK KIRAGU, 87.19314, ALLIANCE HIGH SCHOOL
  8. CHERUIYOT ANDREW KIPKORIR, 87.17629, ALLIANCE HIGH SCHOOL
  9. KIMANI JAMES MUTURI, 87.16257, EVELYN MEMORIAL CHRISTIAN HIGH
  10. SIMIYU W BRIAN, 87.16243, MUSINGU HIGH SCHOOL

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