KCSE 2024: Mass Failures as Students Struggle with D and E Grades
A total of 353,154 candidates who sat for the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations attained a mean grade of D plain or below.
This represents nearly one-third of the 958,928 candidates whose results were announced on Thursday by Education Cabinet Secretary Migosi Ogamba.
While these students may not proceed with formal academic training, they are expected to join technical institutions for artisan courses. The number of students scoring grade D plain and below decreased compared to 2023, where 369,311 students achieved these grades.
In the 2024 KCSE results, 153,334 students scored a mean grade of D plain, comprising 79,832 girls and 73,501 boys. Another 151,487 candidates earned a D minus, with 72,181 being girls and 79,306 boys.
Meanwhile, 48,333 candidates scored a mean grade of E, broken down into 20,112 girls and 28,221 boys. Comparatively, in the 2023 KCSE, 48,174 students attained an E grade, including 19,960 girls and 28,214 boys.
School Performance in Grade E
An analysis by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) on school categories revealed that National schools recorded only 161 E grades, while Extra County schools had 115.
County schools posted 1,906 E grades, Sub-County schools accounted for 40,369, and private schools registered 5,782 E grades.
The 2024 KCSE results indicated an increase in the number of A plain grades, with 1,693 students achieving this score. This marks a 0.18 percent increase compared to 2023, when 1,216 candidates earned A plain grades.
Statistics from KNEC show that in the 2024 results, boys outperformed girls in A plain grades. A total of 1,137 boys attained this grade compared to 556 girls. Similarly, in 2023, 825 boys scored A plain compared to 391 girls.
Contribution of School Categories to A Grades
National schools dominated the A plain grades in the 2024 KCSE, contributing 1,375 out of the total 1,693, which translates to 81.22 percent.
Read Also: 246,391 Candidates Achieve University Entry Grade in KCSE 2024
Extra County schools followed with 163 A plain grades, representing 9.63 percent, while County schools had four A plain grades. Private schools contributed 142 A plain grades.
The 2024 KCSE results also recorded an increase in A minus grades. A total of 7,743 candidates scored A minus, including 2,840 girls and 4,903 boys. This represented a 0.8 percent rise compared to 2023, when 7,254 candidates achieved this grade.
KCSE 2024: Mass Failures as Students Struggle with D and E Grades
