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A total of 494,317 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates have scored a mean grade of D+ and below in the just released results.
This constitutes 54.72 per cent. From the results, 125,006 candidates scored a mean grade of D+, while 155, 276 managed grade D plain.
Further, a total of 165, 861 candidates scored D-.
This brings the total number of candidates in the D grade category to 446,143.
In the grade E category, there are a total number of 48, 174 candidates, which equates to 5.33 per cent.
The number of Ds and Es in the 2023 exams has increased as compared to 489,081 in 2022.
At least 903,260 candidates sat for the papers which began on October 23, 2023 and ended on November 2023.
In the subject performance, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said 14 subjects recorded a drop in performance.
These were: English, Kenyan Sign Language, Physics, ComputerStudies, History & Government, Geography, and IRE.
Others are; Agriculture, Home Science, woodwork, metalwork, Power Mechanics, Drawing and design and Art and design.
Female candidates recorded better mean score performance than male candidates in five subjects: English, Kiswahili, CRE, Home Science, and Art & Design.
Male candidates recorded better mean score performance than female candidates in ten subjects: Mathematics Alt. A &B, Biology, Chemistry, General Science, History & Government, Geography, Agriculture, Computer Studies and Business Studies.
"I am pained by the fact that a large number of candidates still ended up scoring a mean grade of E in the 2023 KCSE Examination even after the Ministry used a more flexible system of computing the final overall candidate results," he said.
Machogu also directed the Directorate of Quality Assurance to work with other field officers and teachers to investigate the E Grade cases in each county.
"The officers should submit a report to me within one month for further action," he said.
