By Dorothy Musyoka
The 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination has recorded notable improvements in overall performance, according to statistics released by the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Hon. Julius Migos Ogamba and the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).
Hon. Ogamba announced that a total of 1,932 candidates (0.19 per cent) attained the top mean grade of A (plain) in the 2025 KCSE examination.
This marks an improvement from 1,693 candidates (0.18 per cent) who achieved the same grade in 2024, indicating a steady upward trend in top-tier performance.
The number of candidates who qualified for direct university entry, defined as attaining a mean grade of C+and above securing a direct entry to university.
“The number of candidates with grade C- (minus) and above was 507,131 (50.92%) in the year 2025 KCSE examination compared to 476,889 (49.41%) in 2024. The number of candidates attaining a pass grade (grade D+ and above) was 634,082 (63.67%) in the year 2025 KCSE examination compared to 605,774 (62.76%) in 2024,” stated CS Ogamba.
Further gains were recorded across other performance categories. Candidates who attained grade C- (minus) and above stood at 507,131 (50.92 per cent) in 2025, up from 476,889 (49.41 per cent) the previous year.
In terms of school categories, National schools produced the highest number of candidates with an overall mean grade of A, totaling 1,526 candidates, followed by Extra County schools with 197, and Private schools with 185. At the C+ and above level, Sub-County schools outperformed County schools, producing 72,699 candidates compared to 36,600 from County schools, highlighting improving outcomes across diverse school categories.
“National schools produced the highest number of candidates with an overall mean grade of A (1,526) followed by Extra County schools (197) and Private Schools (185). Sub-County Schools produced more candidates in the category of C+ and above compared to County Schools, accounting for 72,699 and 36,600 respectively,” CS Ogamba stated.
Providing an overview of the examination administration, KNEC Chief Executive Officer Dr. David Njengere reported that 993,226 candidates sat the 2025 KCSE examination across 10,765 secondary education institutions nationwide. Of these candidates, 492,019 were male while 501,214 were female.
Candidates were examined in 30 subjects, comprising a total of 74 examination papers. To facilitate smooth administration and security, KNEC utilized 633 distribution centres (containers) installed across the country for the daily distribution of examination materials.