10 answers, 5 from Kenya's own official bodies, with a link to each figure.
1,932 candidates (0.19%) scored a mean grade A in the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), up from 1,693 (0.18%) in 2024, according to the Cabinet Secretary for Education's results statement of 9 January 2026. 507,131 candidates (50.92%) scored C- or above, against 49.41% in 2024. 993,226 candidates sat the exam, 30,714 more than in 2024; 50.46% were female. Results of 1,180 candidates were cancelled for exam irregularities.
KCSE is the national exam at the end of secondary school, set by the Kenya National Examinations Council. The mean grade is based on mathematics, the best language and the best five subjects. Candidates check results online with their index number.
270,715 candidates (27.18%) scored a mean grade of C+ or above in the 2025 KCSE exam, the minimum for direct university entry, according to the Ministry of Education. This was up from 246,391 (25.53%) in 2024. Sub-county schools produced 72,699 candidates with C+ and above, compared with 36,600 from county schools.
Meeting the C+ minimum does not guarantee a place; placement in public universities and colleges depends on course requirements and capacity and is handled by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service. Candidates below C+ can enter technical and vocational colleges, where enrolment rose from 562,499 in 2022 to 825,484 in 2025, the National Treasury's Budget Statement says.
Kenya's national government allocated KSh668.3 billion to the education sector in the 2026/27 budget, 28.5% of the key thematic allocations and the largest single share, according to the National Treasury's Budget Summary. Total government spending on education was 4.0% of GDP in 2024, according to the World Bank, using UNESCO data.
The education allocation includes teachers' pay through the Teachers Service Commission, school capitation, university funding, student loans and technical and vocational training. In the Budget Statement, the Treasury proposes KSh8.2 billion for intern teachers and announces that newly recruited intern teachers will be made permanent and pensionable in 2027.
The Kenyan government released KSh44.2 billion in capitation for Term 1 of 2026 to all public basic education institutions, according to a Ministry of Education press release of January 2026. Of this, KSh26.1 billion went to Free Day Secondary Education, KSh14.5 billion to Free Day Junior School Education and KSh3.7 billion to Free Primary Education. Term 1 started on 5 January 2026, and Grade 10 learners reported to senior schools from 12 January 2026.
Capitation is the money the government pays to public schools for each enrolled learner, to cover tuition and running costs, so that day schooling is free. The Ministry of Education publishes capitation releases and school calendars.
825,484 trainees were enrolled in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Kenya in 2025, up from 562,499 in 2022, according to the National Treasury's Budget Statement for FY 2026/27. The Treasury also reports the construction of over 23,000 classrooms and the start of 1,600 laboratories, with the NG-CDF, to support the Competency-Based Curriculum.
TVET institutions include national polytechnics, technical training institutes and vocational training centres, and they take students after secondary school, including those who do not reach the university entry grade. The 2026/27 Budget Statement proposes KSh2.1 billion to build and equip TVET centres. The Ministry of Education oversees TVET through its State Department for TVET.
The figures below use one definition for every country, so they can differ from national figures.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics puts gross secondary school enrolment in Kenya at 84.3% in 2023. That is the highest since at least 2005. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 46.9%, and Kenya placed 3rd highest of 19. Worldwide: 101st of 138.
In 2024, gross tertiary enrolment in Kenya was 10.4%, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The peak was 11.8% in 2017 and the low 3.0% in 2005. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 12.9%, and Kenya placed 9th highest of 14. Of 90 countries with 2024 data, 83rd highest.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics puts government spending on education in Kenya at 4.0% of GDP in 2024. Its high point since 2005 was 2005, at 7.3% of GDP; its low point was 2023, at 4.0% of GDP. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 4.6% of GDP, and Kenya placed 8th highest of 11. Worldwide: 20th of 36.
31: that is the number of primary pupils per teacher in Kenya for 2015, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. It is the bottom of the series, which starts in 2005. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 39; Kenya is 27th highest of 35. Of 136 countries with 2015 data, 33rd highest.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics puts the primary completion rate in Kenya at 102.2% in 2016. It was 87.8% in 2005. It is 2nd highest of 29 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 70.6%. World rank, highest first: 22nd of 140.
Read on 14 October 2026. Definitions · Report an error