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Public schools in Coast region recorded improved performance in this year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams (KCSE).
However, their grades were not good enough to earn them top places on the national ranking list.
Private schools did comparatively better as they posted a number of students in top positions.
An analysis of the schools’ mean cores by the Nation showed that public schools in Taita Taveta, Kwale and Kilifi counties had a good run in this year’s KCSE result.
Countrywide, national schools dominated top positions in the KCSE exams whose results were released on Wednesday by Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha.
The Kenya High School was top followed by Kapsabet Boys and Alliance High School. Others were Moi High School Kabarak, Alliance Girls High School, Maryhill Girls High School, Maseno School, Nairobi School, Mang’u High School and Moi Girls High School – Eldoret.
IMPROVED MEAN GRADE
Together, national schools produced the highest number of As, 495 out of 627. Extra-county schools had 61 As, sub-county four, and private 67. But county schools did not produce any A grade.
At the Coast, the top performing public schools were Kenyatta High, Kwale High, Matuga Girls, Bahari, Bura, Mama Ngina and Dr Aggrey.
On the private schools side, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed topped with a mean score of 9.11, followed by Memon High School (8.27) and Qubaa Muslim School (8.1 points).
Sheikh Khalifa’s mean grade was an improvement from last year’s 8.73. It had 206 candidates. “This is a great achievement. We thank God for the wonderful results,” the school’s deputy principal Rishard Rajab said.
Memon recorded a drop this year with a performance index of 8.27 compared to last year’s 8.32.
VARSITY EDUCATION
Principal Joseph Mwangi said two candidates obtained grade A compared to one last year.
Bahari Girls High School, a national school in Kilifi, rose from a mean score of 6.304 in 2018 to 7.4366. Shimo la Tewa, a public school and one of the academic giants in the region, maintained the mean grade of 6.2.
Mr Mutiso Mathew, the principal, said there was an increase in the number of students qualifying for university admission.
“This year the mean score is 6.2. We are also improving in terms of the population of students sitting for final exams,” said Mr Mutiso.
At Aga Khan High School in Mombasa, deputy principal Charles Onsore said performance had improved.
“Last year we had a mean score of 6.5; this year we have a mean of 7.18,” he said.
Mama Ngina Girls High School principal Mwanahamisi Omar expressed satisfaction with the performance. The school has a mean score of 7.8 which is an improvement over last year’s 6.5.
WORKING STRATEGY
In Taita Taveta, Dr Aggrey Boys High School raised the mean grade from 6.74 in 2018 to 7.42 this year.
Deputy Principal Nyakundi Morekwa said the improvement was a result of cooperation between teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders.
“We intend to enhance the strategies used this year to do even better next year. The number of students who qualify for university has risen from 74 last year to 96 this year. This is a job well done,” said Mr Morekwa.
Lamu Girls High School got a mean core of 5.51, an improvement by 1.16 compared to last year, the best in the county.
Kwale Boys High School and Matuga Girls High School also recorded impressive results this year compared to last year. Kwale High garnered a mean grade of 7.1, compared to 6.5 last year.