- The 2024 KCSE results will be released in the second week of January 2025.
- A staggering 965,501 students sat the exams, which ended on November 22, 2024.
- The minimum grade for the entry university is C+ (plus), both private and public universities.
It’s been approximately 6 to 7 weeks since the 2024 KCSE candidates completed their exams on November 22, 2024. The wait has been longer, triggering anxieties among the students who sat the exams and parents.
As it was the culture a few years ago, students wouldn’t have celebrated the new year before knowing their fate. This has been the trend since the end of the COVID-19 era.
The 2023 KCSE results were released on January 8th, 2024, the seventh week of the year. This has been the second year the government is realeasing the results in January of President Ruto’s tenure.
A total of 965,501 candidates for the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). This is slightly higher compared to 2023, when 899,453 candidates sat the exams, with 448,899 (50.09%) being males and 450,550 (49.91%) females, indicating a significant near gender parity in candidature.
The 2022 KCSE exams had 881,416 candidates, with 443,644 males and 437,772 females, exhibiting a close gender distribution. With the release of the 2024 exams, a higher parity gender is expected, even in terms of performance across different subjects. However, boys are known to perform better in STEM than girls, who also perform well in languages.
The CS and PS for Education and Basic Education confirm the date of KCSE Results Release.
On January 3rd, 2024, while touring the coastal region to assess the readiness for the reopening of schools next week, the Basic Education Principal Secretary, Belio Kipsang, denied the allegations surrounding results manipulation, connected to its delayed release. He confirmed that results will be out in the next 10 days.
“But we decided to take time to ensure all issues and everything is done to ensure smooth release of results,” PS Kipsand said.
“But what is different this year is that we did not have the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), so it’s like something is missing, but we’re releasing results within the next 10 days.”
“It was the year that we put in place structures and systems to ensure the smooth running of exams and give our examiners adequate time to go through and give our examiners adequate time to go through the exams and ensure each child receives the results that they have worked for the last four years,” Dr. Kipsang added.
The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Dr. Julius Migosi Ogamba, while speaking in Kisii County at a cultural event, confirmed that the KCSE results will be released within the next two days without disclosing the exact date.
“Traditionally, the KCSE exams were released in January, and we are keeping to that tradition, and we will be releasing them within the next two weeks,” CS Julius Ogamba said.
The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is graded based on a comprehensive assessment of a candidate’s performance in various subjects. The new system is a little bit different from the previous one, which barred many students from pursuing their desired courses.
How KCSE Results are Graded, Subject-by-subject and the Minimum Grade for University and TVET Entry
The Kenya National Examination Council’s new system (KNEC) ranks seven best-performing students only to aggregate the student’s overall grade. Two mandatory subjects are used to grade candidates: mathematics and one language, either English or Kiswahili.
Additionally, KNEC will consider other five best-performing subjects for grading, unlike the traditional system whereby five subjects are mandatory for grading learners. Five subjects were compulsory: mathematics, English, Kiswahili, and two sciences (chemistry, biology, and physics). The aggregate score is calculated by summing up the grade points from the candidates’ best subjects.
Each subject is scored out of 100 marks and then converted into grade points using a standardized conversion table on a general scale, ranging from E (1 point) to A (10 points).
- 81-100 marks = A (12 points)
- 74-80 marks = A- (11 points)
- 67-73 marks = B+ (10 points)
- 60-66 marks = B (9 points)
- 53-59 marks = B- (8 points)
- 46-52 marks = C+ (7 points)
- 39-45 marks = C (6 points)
- 32-38 marks = C- (5 points)
- 25-31 marks = D+ (4 points)
- 18-24 marks = D (3 points)
- 11-17 marks = D- (2 points)
- 0-10 marks = E (1 point)
The aggregate score is then averaged to give a mean for the candidate, which determines the overall performance.
- A = 11-12 points
- A- = 10-10.9 points
- B+ = 9-0.9 points
- B = 8-8.9 points
- B- = 7-7.9 points
- C+ = 6-6.9 points
- C = 5-5.9 points
- C- = 4-4.9 points
- D+ = 3-3.9 points
- D = 2-2.9 points
- D- = 1-1.9 points
- E = 0-0.9 points
Students need a minimum of C+ (plus) to qualify for university admission, although different courses might have additional entry requirements.
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions require different grade thresholds, often lower than the university requirements. Those that qualify to join the university can also reconsider their course of action, whether to join or go to TVET.
