KCSE 2025: Alarm As Over 700K Candidates Fail Straight University Admission
Following the announcement of the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results on Friday, 722,511 applicants were unable to qualify for university placement because they did not achieve the necessary C+ mean grade.
This raises worries about the quality of education and students’ readiness for higher learning.
Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba stated that 270,715 individuals received direct university admission out of a total of 993,226 applicants.
He praised the performance, noting a 9.8 per cent gain over the 2024 KCSE results. The numbers, however, portray a bleak picture.
In 2024, a total of 719,110 candidates failed to achieve the C+ minimum grade, which has recently increased slightly to 722,511 in 2025.
CS Education Dr. Julius Migos: 1,180 Candidates were found to have been involved in examination irregularities. Consequently, and in line with the applicable law and regulations, their examination results have been canceled.#K24Updates pic.twitter.com/1pFgRdOEod
— K24TV (@K24Tv) January 9, 2026
Many students are steered to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs as part of the government’s 100% transition policy for skills training.
Other data showed some improvement in lower bands: applicants scoring C- and above improved from 476,889 to 507,131, while those scoring D+ and above went from 605,774 to 634,082.
Grading System
In his speech, CS Ogamba disclosed that the students were rated using the reviewed grading system, in which the overall score takes into account Math, the best-performed language among English/Kiswahili/Kenya Sign Language, and the top five disciplines.
Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Julius Migos Ogamba: There were 1,932 (0.19%) candidates who obtained an overall mean grade A (plain) in the year 2025 KCSE examination. This is an improvement as compared to 1,693 (0.18%) candidates in 2024.The number of candidates with direct university… pic.twitter.com/x2UThmRYVl
— The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) (@KNECKenya) January 9, 2026
The system, which came into effect in 2023, is a distinct contrast to the previous system, which considered seven subjects including English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, two Science subjects and two other subjects.
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The old grading system was criticised by the Presidential Working Party on Education reforms for disadvantaging learners whose strongest subjects were outside the set cluster.
Under the new reforms, English and Kiswahili measure literacy, while Mathematics and a Science subject assess numeracy, ensuring a broader evaluation of a learner’s abilities.
The system aligns with the broader shift from the 8-4-4 curriculum to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), emphasising skills and competencies over rote learning.
The 2025 KCSE results highlight both progress and challenges: while more candidates qualified for direct university entry compared to previous years, the alarmingly high number of students missing the C+ threshold underscores the urgent need to strengthen secondary education.
KCSE 2025: Alarm As Over 700K Candidates Fail Straight University Admission
