CS Machogu: Kiambu County topped in KCSE

By Peter Ochieng

Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Education Ezekiel Machogu on Thursday responded to reports of candidates in Kisii and Nyamira counties leading in straight As, in last year's Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

Machogu comes from Kisii. The Nov-Dec, 2022 were the first exams to be administered under his watch as CS for education.

When results came out, reports claimed that Kisii and Nyamira counties had produced the most As.

The CS, while appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Education on Thursday, set the record straight.

He told the Julius Melly led committee that contrary to the wide spread reports, the two counties had the least number of grade As.

The CS said Kiambu County led with 226As.

“There has been a portrayal in the mainstream and social media that schools from certain counties achieved extraordinary scores. The intended narrative in this portrayal has been that these counties were accorded an undue advantage for reasons that have never stated. Kisii and Nyamira counties have especially been targeted," said Machogu.

He continued, “We did not rank schools but the truth of the matter is Kiambu County topped the list with 226As due to the high number of national schools in the area. Reports that Nyamira and Kisii counties had 946As were falsehoods and are not true in any manner."

The CS said Siaya county topped in Nyanza region with 72As, followed by Homabay, Migori and Kisumu.

Kisii and Nyamira were ranked second last and last in number of As in Nyanza.

When the CS announced KCSE results on 20th January, 2023, eyes focused on the little known Nyambaria High School, in Nyamira county.

The school registered 28 straight As.