The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is an academic certificate awarded to candidates upon completion of secondary education in Kenya.

The first KCSE exam was held in 1989 at the same time as the last Kenya Advanced Certificate of Education (KACE), which it replaced as the entrance requirement for Kenyan universities.

In 1989, the KCSE included 10 subjects, but was later reviewed in 1992 and changed to 7 subjects under the presidency of Daniel arap Moi.

Group one (Compulsory subjects, 1989–2022; as from 2023 Mathematics and one language were compulsory) Group two (Sciences) Group three (Humanities) Group four (Technicals) Group five (Foreign Languages and Business) English, Kiswahili, Mathematics Biology, Physics, Chemistry History and Government, Geography, Christian Religious Education, Islamic Religious Education and Hindu Religious Education Home Science, Art and Design, Agriculture, Computer Studies, Aviation, Electricity, Power Mechanics and Woodwork French, German, Arabic, Music and Business Studies

For grading, candidates must take all the three compulsory subjects, at least two sciences, one humanity and at least one practical or technical subject (see table above).

The KCSE examinations are taken under very strict supervision by the invigilators to avoid cheating and run for a period of about one month. Cheating in these examinations attracts severe penalties from the Kenya National Examination Council, and students caught cheating get their grades cancelled.

The exams usually start in early November and end in late November. During December, the exam is graded and the results are released in late December the same year. However, the dates and even months for the examination may change depending on various factors such as teachers' strikes and natural calamities such as Covid-19 which led to reshuffling of the academic calendar in all learning institutions in the country.

Examination results are announced to the public by the Cabinet Secretary for Education, and the top hundred students and schools are released to the media the day of the results announcement, online portals for checking results is also made available at that moment. School rankings are divided into the top 100 private schools, public schools and provincial schools.

The grading of the examination is as follows: Grade Agrregated points Points A 80-100 12 A- 75-79 11 B+ 70-74 10 B 65-69 9 B- 60-64 8 C+ 55-59 7 C 50-54 6 C- 45-49 5 D+ 40-44 4 D 35-39 3 D- 30-34 2 E 0-29 1

In Kenya, this examination is the entrance qualification to public and private universities and the pass mark is grade C+. Students who attain a lower mark than C+ join other tertiary institutions for non-degree courses. Over time, stringent measures have been taken by the government to ensure and sustain the credibility of the KCSE examination. However, there have been instances of breaches of these measures leading to examination vices such as leakage to some selected students who if undetected end up scoring high grades. The ministry usually punish students caught in examination malpractices by cancelling their results, and they are also barred from sitting for another national exams for a period of three years, after which they will be allowed to sit for another K.C.S.E exams. Examination officials who participate in the cheating and leakaging of the exams questions are also charged in a court of law.

Each year, students complete the examination following a four-year Secondary School Course. This examination is used to determine career paths. Since 2018, specific grades have met the requirements for admission into public or private universities in the country, a criteria that differed for previous candidates.

Impact of COVID-19 in 2020

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and due to the surge in cases, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Professor George Magoha, postponed the certificate examinations to 2021 for 800,000 Form 4 candidates. It was done in March 2021. This was the first time in the history of Kenyan education for the exams to be postponed and the academic calendar cancelled.

Transition to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) With Kenya's ongoing transition from the 8-4-4 system to the 2-6-3-3-3 Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is slated to be phased out. The historical first cohort of CBC learners completed Junior School (Grade 9) and sat for the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA), before transitioning into Senior School (Grade 10).

Upon completion of Grade 12 in Senior School, future cohorts will sit for the Kenya Senior Secondary Education Assessment (KSSEA) instead of the KCSE, marking the eventual end of the 8-4-4 secondary evaluation framework.

The final edition of the examinations will take place in late 2027.

Summary of recent results Year Registered Total Sat YoY Growth (%) Boys Girls Gender Ratio Number of A Plains University Qualifiers Release Date Source(s) 2000 182,805 — — — — — — 40,491 — 2001 196,439 194,883 6.61% 103,492 91,391 53.1:46.9 — — — 2002 198,356 197,118 1.15% 105,202 91,916 53.4:46.6 — 42,721 — 2003 207,730 205,832 4.42% 110,480 95,352 53.7:46.3 — 49,870 — 2004 222,676 221,295 7.51% 119,643 101,652 54.1:45.9 — 58,239 — 2005 260,665 259,219 17.14% 140,493 118,726 54.2:45.8 — 68,040 — 2006 243,453 242,433 -6.48% 131,232 111,201 54.1:45.9 1,165 63,104 — 2007 276,239 273,504 12.82% 148,817 124,687 54.4:45.6 822 82,134 March 2008 2008 305,015 304,813 11.45% 166,664 138,149 54.7:45.3 817 72,590 March 2009 2009 337,410 333,831 9.52% 183,865 149,966 55.1:44.9 973 81,048 March 2, 2010 2010 357,488 354,834 6.29% 193,025 161,809 54.4:45.6 1,566 97,191 Feb 28, 2011 2011 411,783 409,522 15.41% 221,703 187,819 54.1:45.9 1,930 119,658 Feb 29, 2012 2012 436,349 432,443 5.60% 231,102 201,341 53.4:46.6 1,975 123,704 March 1, 2013 2013 449,246 446,696 3.30% 243,604 203,092 54.5:45.5 2,727 123,365 March 3, 2014 2014 485,547 483,630 8.27% 259,746 223,884 53.7:46.3 3,073 149,717 March 3, 2015 2015 — 525,802 8.72% — — — 2,685 — March 3, 2016 2016 — ~571,000 ~8.59% — — — 141 ~88,929 Dec 29, 2016 2017 615,773 611,952 7.17% — — — 142 70,073 Dec 20, 2017 2018 664,585 660,204 7.88% 341,089 319,115 51.7:48.3 315 90,377 Dec 21, 2018 2019 699,745 697,222 5.61% 355,782 341,440 51.0:49.0 627 125,746 Dec 18, 2019 2020 752,602 747,161 7.16% 381,114 366,047 51.0:49.0 893 143,140 May 10, 2021 2021 830,854 826,807 10.66% 421,318 405,489 50.97:49.03 1,138 145,145 April 23, 2022 2022 884,122 881,416 6.60% 443,644 437,772 50.34:49.66 1,146 173,345 Jan 20, 2023 2023 903,138 899,453 2.05% 450,554 448,899 50.10:49.90 1,216 201,133 Jan 8, 2024 2024 965,172 962,512 7.01% 480,310 482,202 49.90:50.10 1,693 246,391 Jan 9, 2025 2025 995,860 993,226 3.19% 492,012 501,214 49.54:50.46 1,932 270,715 Jan 9, 2026

See also Joint Admissions Board of Kenya Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Kenya National Examination Council

References How to get your KCSE certificate if school was closed

External links The Kenya National Examination Council online Kcse Results Internship and attachment in kenya Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Information