1,932 A’s recorded as girls outperform boys in 2025 KCSE

Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) data for the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) has revealed a continued trend of female academic excellence, with girls outperforming boys across most subjects.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba said girls not only outnumbered boys for the second consecutive year, but also posted stronger mean score performances in several key subjects.

Out of the 993,226 candidates who sat the examination, 501,214 were female compared to 492,012 males, representing 50.46 per cent and 49.54 per cent respectively.

“This is the second year in a row since the inception of KCSE that female candidates are more than male candidates,” Migos said during the release of the results in Eldoret.

However, male candidates outperformed their female counterparts in most science, technology and technical subjects.

According to the results released yesterday, boys posted higher mean scores than girls in 11 subjects, the majority of them in science and technical disciplines.

The subjects in which male candidates recorded stronger performance include Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, History and Government, Geography, Business Studies, as well as technical courses such as Building Construction and applied sciences.

At the same time, total of 1,180 results were cancelled after being found involved in exam malpractice.

Ogamba noted that the action was taken following the conclusion of investigations that began in November last year.

He defended the decision, referencing the KNEC (Handling of Examination Irregularities) Rules of 2015, Legal Notice No. 132 of 2015, which grants the Council the legal mandate to either suspend or withhold a candidate’s results over exam malpractices.

“I wish to reiterate our stand on the integrity of examinations. In November last year, we indicated that there were reported cases under investigation and that action would be taken upon conclusion of the investigation,” he noted.

“At the conclusion of the KCSE examination, 1,180 candidates were found to have been involved in examination irregularities. Consequently, and in line with the applicable law and regulations, their examination results have been cancelled.”

In contrast, 840 candidates had their results cancelled in the 2024 KCSE examination, while 2,829 results were withheld at the time.