CS Ogamba Reveals System Used To Grade 2025 KCSE Results

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has revealed the grading framework used in the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, alongside detailed performance statistics showing marginal but notable improvements compared to 2024.

Speaking during the official release of the results, Ogamba said the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) retained the revised grading system first introduced in 2023, emphasizing consistency and fairness in national assessments.

The system determines a candidate’s overall KCSE grade by combining performance in Mathematics, the best language score among English, Kiswahili, and Kenyan Sign Language, and the best five remaining subjects.

“As has been the case since 2023, the 2025 KCSE examination results have been graded using the reviewed grading system in which the overall grade at the KCSE examination considers mathematics, the best performing language among English, Swahili, and Kenyan Sign Language, and the best performing five subjects,” Ogamba stated.

The Cabinet Secretary noted that overall outcomes indicated gradual improvement across key performance indicators, including top grades, university entry eligibility, and general pass rates.

“There were 1,932, which is 0.19% candidates, who obtained an overall mean grade A plain in the year 2025 KCSE examination,” Ogamba said, adding that this marked an increase from 1,693 candidates, or 0.18 per cent, recorded in 2024.

Performance Trends in the 2025 KCSE Examination

According to data released by the Ministry of Education, 270,715 candidates attained a mean grade of C-plus and above in 2025, qualifying them for direct university entry.

This represented 27.18 per cent of the total candidature, an improvement from 246,391 candidates in 2024.

“The number of candidates with direct university entry qualifications of mean grade C plus and above was 270,715,” Ogamba said, underscoring what he described as steady progress in academic outcomes nationally.

Further analysis showed that 507,131 candidates, equivalent to 50.92 per cent, scored grade C-minus and above in 2025, compared to 476,889 candidates, or 49.41 per cent, in 2024.

Also Read: How to Check 2025 KCSE Results Quickly

Pass Rates and School Category Performance

Ogamba also reported that 634,082 candidates attained a pass grade of D-plus and above, translating to 63.67 per cent in 2025, up from 62.76 per cent in the previous year.

National schools continued to dominate top performance brackets.

“National schools produced the highest number of candidates with an overall mean grade of A, which was 1,526,” Ogamba said, followed by extra-county schools with 197 candidates and private schools with 185.

However, sub-county schools outperformed county schools in the C-plus and above category, producing 72,699 candidates compared to 36,600 from county schools, a trend the ministry said highlighted improving equity in access to quality education.

Also Read: KNEC Issues 2025 KCSE Results Alert

Examination Integrity and Access to Results

On examination integrity, Ogamba reiterated the government’s zero-tolerance stance on malpractice.

“At the conclusion of the KCSE examination, 1,180 candidates were found to have been involved in examination irregularities,” he said, confirming that their results had been cancelled in line with the law.

Candidates can access their individual results online through the KNEC portal.

Ogamba said “results would be available via results.knec.ac.ke, where candidates must enter their index number and one registered name to view their 2025 KCSE results.”

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