The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has clarified the confusion surrounding the release of the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) results, attributing discrepancies to an issue within the SMS service and not their official portal.
During the results release on November 23, some students received misaligned marks, with Kiswahili marks erroneously placed under Kenya Sign Language.
Additionally, grades in Science, Social Studies, and Religious Education were truncated incorrectly, missing the expected plus and minus signs.
“The error affected only the SMS results due to configuration issues, as the results in the KNEC portal are accurate. KNEC notified the SMS service providers, and the error in the text messages was resolved immediately,” KNEC explained.
The examination body revealed that a review found 130 candidates had been awarded low marks, and the necessary corrections were made promptly.
Also Read: Garisa, Kwale, Kilifi Counties Lead In 18-Years-Old Students Who Sat For 2023 KCPE
Regarding a school with candidates attaining identical marks of 75 in Science, KNEC stated that no evidence suggested irregularities that would necessitate result nullification.
The best-performing KCPE candidate in 2023 scored an impressive 428 marks out of 500. Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu reported that only 8,525 candidates scored above 400 marks, constituting 0.60% of the total.
Breaking down the results, 352,782 candidates scored between 300 to 399 marks (24.29%), while 658,278 candidates fell within the 200 to 299 marks range (48.49%).
Additionally, 383,025 candidates scored between 100 to 199 marks, and 2,060 scored between 0 to 99 marks.
In terms of gender distribution, 51.3% of this year’s class comprised male candidates, with females making up 48.7%. Notably, female candidates outperformed their male counterparts in English, Kiswahili, and Kenya Sign Language, while male candidates excelled slightly in Maths and Science.
KNEC CEO David Njeng’ere announced that candidates who had registered for the exams but failed to sit would be given an opportunity to take special exams in 30 days.
Form 1 placement is expected to be completed by the end of December 2023, offering clarity on the academic journey for the successful candidates.
