2025 KCSE RESULTS : How candidates performed
The Ministry of Education has unveiled the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results, revealing notable progress in students' overall achievement and a rise in the proportion qualifying for direct university admission.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba made the announcement on Friday at AIC Chebisas High School in Eldoret. He revealed that 993,226 candidates participated in the 2025 exams, marking an increase of 30,714 candidates (or 3.19%) from the 962,512 who sat in 2024.
The Ministry noted that 17 subjects showed substantial gains in performance — the same figure as in 2024 — while 11 subjects experienced declines, a slight rise from the ten subjects that dropped the previous year.
In total, 1,932 candidates (representing 0.19%) earned an overall mean grade of A (plain), up from 1,693 candidates (0.18%) in 2024.
The count of candidates securing the direct university entry requirement of C+ and higher climbed to 270,715 (27.18%), compared to 246,391 (25.53%) the year before. Those achieving C– and above grew to 507,131 (50.92%), from 476,889 (49.41%) in 2024. Candidates with a pass grade of D+ and above also increased, reaching 634,082 (63.67%), versus 605,774 (62.76%) previously.
Regarding school categories, national schools led in producing top achievers, recording 1,526 A (plain) grades, followed by Extra County schools (197) and private schools (185). At the middle performance range, Sub-County schools surpassed County schools in the number of candidates with C+ and above, posting 72,699 compared to 36,600.
In gender-based performance, female candidates outperformed their male counterparts in mean scores for the following six subjects: English, Kiswahili, Kenyan Sign Language, Home Science, CRE, and Art & Design.
Conversely, male candidates achieved higher mean scores than females in 11 subjects: 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," said the CS.
As for irregularities, CS Ogamba stated that 1,180 candidates were discovered to have committed misconduct. “Consequently, and in line with the applicable law and regulations, their examination results have been cancelled,” he stated
