Wamuzi News Ke
The 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results have stirred up the education scene in Kenya, as the male students took advantage of the situation to excel in most subjects, despite the fact that girls had the majority of the total candidature for the second year in a row.
The repercussions of this have led to a heated discussion among the education sector, the government, and families all over the country.
The Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba revealed the results during an event at Chebisaas Boys High School in Eldoret, and he did say that boys had the upper hand in terms of mean scores in 11 subjects, including science and technical fields such as mathematics (both alternative papers), biology, chemistry, general science, history and government, geography, building construction, and business studies.
The fact that boys were able to triumph over girls in the traditionally tough subjects like mathematics and sciences was in stark contrast to the educational trend of female academic rise that had been noticeable in past years.
The girls indeed did quite well in languages and humanities-based subjects like English, Kiswahili, Kenyan Sign Language, Home Science, Christian Religious Education, and Art and Design, but their performance in the numeracy and technical fields was still lower compared to that of their male counterparts.
The national cohort for the 2025 KCSE has reached an astonishing 993,226 candidates, and the gender distribution was as follows: girls made up 50.46% of the total, and boys came in with 49.54%, very close behind. Thus, female candidates will be, for the second straight year, the majority in the examination.
The top-tier grades were given to 1,932 candidates as an overall sign of the good results coming through, which is 239 more than in 2024, when 1,693 candidates got an A (plain) grade. Moreover, over 270,000 students have been given a C+ or above, which is the minimum grade for direct entry into universities.
Now, education stakeholders are worrying about the implications of the different performances and making recommendations for targeted interventions to lessen the gender gap in STEM and technical education for girls.
Experts cautioned that continuous weak performance of the female gender in the areas of science and mathematics could result in the loss of national competitiveness and inequity in the employment of females in sectors that are high in demand.
In this year’s KCSE report, the unanticipated turn of events points to changing trends in Kenya’s education system, and it is already the start of the era of heated arguments over changes in policy, support mechanisms, and resource allocation as the country gets its students ready for future academic and professional paths.
