Light Academy toast of the Coast as Sing’ore tops nationally

Noordin Kullow of Light Academy in Mombasa is celebrated for his splendid performance in the 2017 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination, on December 20, 2017. The school was ranked second nationally with a performance index of 69.1 points. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • But the diminishing numbers of qualifiers has implications for parallel degree programmes in public universities.
  • Dr Matiang’i decried fresh attempts by exam cheats to make a comeback after a successful weed-out last year.

Light Academy, a privately run school in Mombasa, emerged tops in Coast region in this year’s Form Four examination.

It was ranked second nationally with a performance index of 69.1 points.

Overall, little-known Sing’ore Girls’ High School in far-flung Elgeyo-Marakwet County was the best performing school this year, attaining a performance index of 69.9 points.

Overall, for the second straight year, girls topped the charts in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination results released for the first time before Christmas.

TOP SCORERS
Naomi Kawira Kirimi of Pangani Girls was the toast of the year with a performance index of 87.011 and was followed by Sharon Jepchumba of Moi Girls Eldoret (86.83) while Kamau Brian Maina of Alliance High School attained third position with 86.757.

Others among the top 10 were Kut Donata Odero of Lenana School, Muutu Harriet Mueke of Maryhill Girls, Brian Ongiri Onkundi of Kanga, Morara Mongina Defence, Mwatate Emily Saru and Wahome Sherry Wanjiku of Pangani, Onyango Stanley Omondi of Maranda and Onyore Hillary L. Akinyi of Kenya High.

Third, fourth and fifth positions went to girls.

Alliance Girls’ High School, which topped the charts last year, came third and obtained a performance index of 68.6 points and in fourth slot was Kenya High with 68.2 points.

It was the second last year.

GENDER

In fifth position was Loreto Girls’ School, Limuru, which had a performance index of 68.1 points.

Pangani Girls was the school to watch this year, registering a significant improvement and posting a number of candidates among the top 100.

Alliance Girls and Kenya High continued their sterling performance.

Increasingly, girls are taking an edge in the education sector, sending signals that the scales of gender balance are tipping against boys.

The same trend was observed in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam whose results were released last month.

LOW PERFORMANCE
A striking trend is the continued dip in overall performance. The number of As climbed up marginally to 142, up from 141.

However, the number of A-s dropped drastically, in fact by nearly half, to 2,714, compared to 4,786 the previous year.

“The number of candidates attaining the highest overall mean score (A plain) remained almost equal in 2016 and 2017,” Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said as he released the results at the Nairobi School on Wednesday.

More telling is the huge decline in the number of candidates who qualify for university admission.

UNIVERSITY

Some 70,073 candidates obtained grade C+, the intake cut-off, compared to 88,929 last year.

It is notable that since last year, when the Education Ministry and the Kenya National Examinations Council instituted strict measures to curb cheating, the number of those qualifying for university education has been decreasing at worrying levels.

In a sense, it illustrates that some of the high grades obtained in the past were not deserved.

“Overall, the number of candidates with minimum university entry qualification of mean grade C+ and above is 70,073 (11.38 per cent) in 2017 compared to 88,929 (15.41 per cent) in 2016.

PARALLEL DEGREE
The positive ring to this is that it will help create stability in university admission.

The high number of qualifiers had created a fleeting demand for university education and the consequence was quick but unplanned expansion that eventually affected quality.

But the diminishing numbers of qualifiers has implications for parallel degree programmes in public universities but, more profoundly, on private universities that will find a depleted basket to draw students from.

CARTELS
Dr Matiang’i decried fresh attempts by exam cheats to make a comeback after a successful weed-out last year.

However, he explained that the designs were nipped in the bud.

“I must, however, point out that five candidates who were caught engaging in examination malpractices were disqualified even before the KCSE examination was over,” he said.

In terms of performance by subject, 13 recorded remarkable improvement with notable ones being English, Mathematics Alternative Science and Geography.

It is not lost that there was no single A in English last year, prompting a national outcry given the crucial role of the subject in admission to higher education.