The 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results, released on Friday, show female students outperforming their male counterparts in several subjects, highlighting a shift in academic achievement alongside overall improvements in national performance.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba announced that 993,226 candidates sat the exams, up from 962,512 in 2024.
According to the Ministry of Education, female candidates recorded higher mean scores in six subjects: English, Kiswahili, Kenyan Sign Language, Home Science, CRE, and Art & Design.
Male candidates, on the other hand, performed better in 11 subjects, including Mathematics Alternatives A and B, Biology and Biology for the Blind, Chemistry, General Science, History & Government, Geography, IRE, Building & Construction, and Business Studies.
"The performance of male candidates was comparable to their female counterparts in the following seven (7) subjects: Physics, Agriculture, Computer Studies, French, German, Arabic and Music," CS Ogamba noted.
Overall, top performance also improved. A total of 1,932 candidates (0.19%) attained an A (plain) grade, compared to 1,693 (0.18%) in 2024. The number of students qualifying for direct university entry by scoring C+ and above rose to 270,715 (27.18%), up from 246,391 (25.53%) last year.
Those scoring C– and above increased to 507,131 (50.92%), while candidates achieving D+ and above reached 634,082 (63.67%).
National schools led in producing top performers, with 1,526 A (plain) grades, followed by Extra County schools (197) and private schools (185). At the mid-performance level, Sub-County schools outperformed County schools, with 72,699 candidates scoring C+ and above, compared to 36,600.
CS Ogamba also addressed examination misconduct, reporting that 1,180 candidates were involved in irregularities. “Consequently, and in line with the applicable law and regulations, their examination results have been cancelled,” he said.
The results highlight a growing trend of female academic excellence while reflecting steady national improvement, particularly in the number of students qualifying for higher education.
