Why this year’s KCPE candidates 2022 were not ranked
KCPE candidates in 2022 were not ranked; a major shift from the norm as the Education CS released the results
KCPE candidates in 2022 were not ranked; a major shift from the norm as the Education CS released the results.
On Wednesday, Ezekiel Machogu, the cabinet secretary for education, released the results of the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), breaking with convention by not naming the nation’s best candidates.
The best candidate for the 2022 class received 431 points, up from the 428 received on the previous national exam, according to Ezekiel Machogu.
There was a tie in the top position, which was taken by Fwaro Makokha Robinson and Otieno Lewis Omondi Glen, who scored 431 marks.
Out of the 1,233,852 candidates who sat KCSE exams in November 2022, 9,443 scored above 400 marks, 307,000 scored above 300 marks, 619,582 had 200 marks and above whereas 1,170 candidates scored between 1 and 99 marks.
According to Ezekiel Machogu, the Education Cabinet Secretary, the Ministry of Education would no longer announce the top students in national tests in an effort to reduce unhealthy competition.
The decision not to rank the candidates was agreed upon by President William Ruto, according to CS Machogu’s other revelation.
The CS caught the country unawares when he departed from tradition by not naming the top candidate in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam when he released the results yesterday at Mitihani House in Nairobi.
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Although the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) has not been ranking all candidates, it has been naming the top performers and their scores.
Knec CEO David Njeng’ere said ranking has been stopped because it fuels unhealthy competition and examination malpractices. “It doesn’t have merit. I wish we were discussing the quality of education and how exams can be used as a scorecard on the quality. That should be the conversation like we have generally achieved gender parity in our education and that we have more learners in the average bracket. The tail is becoming shorter,” he said.
“We’re raising the stakes (by ranking) and some people feel they must be number one no matter what it takes. Can we bring down the stakes!” Dr. Njeng’ere added.
The secretary-general of the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) Akello Misori supported Mr. Machogu on the move.
“It’s been our wish. Ranking brings about unnecessary competition and unnecessary examination anxiety. It’s a move in the right direction,” he said.
“We have significant improvement in the top mark but something which is alarming is that the candidates who scored below 300 marks seem to be more than those who scored 300 and above. This is an indication that something must be done about our quality. Because we’re having 100 percent transition, we shouldn’t transit candidates to complete secondary school with such grades,” Mr. Misori added.
The chair of the Kenya Private Schools Association, Mr. Charles Ochome, said failing to rank candidates has its pros but warned that it may make learners and teachers not work hard enough.
“It’ll make the children not to panic and bring sobriety in the sector. However, as humans, we want to know how we compare with others. It’s like athletics. How can someone train hard when they know that they will go into a race and not be ranked?” Mr. Ochome asked.
Also read,
Top candidates in 2022 KCPE exams revealed
KCPE 2022 performance breakdown with top candidate scoring 431 marks
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