11,523 registered candidates did not sit KCPE exam
A total of 11,523 candidates did not sit the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has said.
Speaking when he released the 2021 KCPE results in Nairobi on Monday, Prof Magoha said only 1,214,031 candidates who sat the tests at 28,313 centres will be eligible for admission to secondary schools.
No-show candidates decreased from 12,424 in 2020 to 11,523 in 2021.
“In the 2020 KCPE, 1,179,192 candidates sat the examination. The candidature increased by 34,839 in 2021 compared to 2020.
Male and female candidates also increased by 19,934 (3.27 percent) and 14,905 respectively,” Prof Magoha said.
Overall performance improved compared with 2020, although the highest mark dropped from 433 in 2020 to 428 in 2021.
“The mean average performance and quality of grades for all candidates is higher. For example, whereas 8,091 (0.68 percent) candidates scored between 400 and 500 marks in the 2020 KCPE, the number increased to 11,857 (0.97 percent) in the 2021 KCPE. This is an indicator that most candidates scored better … than the previous year,” he said.
In 2020, the government ordered schools to close to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The institutions remained closed for 10 months before reopening in January 2021. This prompted the Ministry of Education to introduce a crash academic calendar to help learners recover the lost time.
Apart from Form Four students who are sitting their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam, other learners are on a long holiday break which is expected to end in April.
When learning resumes in April, the 2022 academic year will also be busy, with only one-week breaks in July, August and September before the year ends in November. The regular calendar will resume in January next year.
“The administration of the December 2022 examinations will effectively mark the end of the rearranged academic calendar that was forced upon us by the disruptions of the Covid-19, causing the prolonged closure in 2020,” Prof Magoha said.
“Beginning January 2023, our country will go back to its traditional academic calendar that starts in January and ends in November of each year.
“I thank all stakeholders who have given us all the support in negotiating this difficult period, especially teachers who have had to work extra hard to ensure learners covered the syllabus within the short timelines.”