MoE Announces Changes in KCSE Grading System
MoE Announces Changes in KCSE Grading System. The Ministry of Education has introduced an improved grading system to come into effect based on the results of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination in 2023. Under the new grading structure, the average grade will now only take into account the two compulsory subjects – Mathematics and Language, which can be English, Kiswahili or Kenyan Sign Language. Education CS Ezekiel Machogu highlighted this significant change during the release of Form One placement results for KCPE 2023 candidates at Lenana School, Nairobi on December 18, 2023.
In addition to the two compulsory subjects, the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) will count the five subjects with the best results for each candidate. CS Machogu stressed that the aim of this reform is to increase the number of students eligible for admission to universities, diploma programs and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programs at certificate and artisan levels.
Traditionally, the KCSE examination grading system included seven subjects, including English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, two science subjects and two other subjects. The adjustment comes in response to concerns raised by the President’s Task Force on Education Reform, noting that the previous 8-4-4 grading system disadvantaged some students whose top-performing subjects were not recognized unless they matched a specific group.
CS Machogu has announced that the KCSE 2023 examination results will be published in the second week of January. The exam, which ran from October 23 to November 24, included a total of 903,260 candidates. In an interview with the Nation, Machogu revealed that he is currently focusing on brand verification, stating, “We are done with branding. What we are currently doing is tagging, verification and validation. To publish credible results by the end of the day.”
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