• There are 100,721 candidates compared to 88,122 who sat the 2019 exam.
• Of the number, 51,226 are girls, while the remaining 49,995 are boys.
Some 100,712 pupils are expected to sit the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam on the Coast from Tuesday to Thursday next week.
In 2019, the region had 88,122 candidates, hence there has been a 12.5 per cent increase (12,590 more pupils) this year, according to Coast regional deputy director of education Arita Bwana.
Kilifi county has the highest number of registered candidates with 39,386, followed by Kwale with 22,465 and Mombasa with 21,129.
Taita Taveta has 8,771, Tana River 5,613 and Lamu is the last with only 3,348 candidates.
“Kilifi county is quite big compared to other counties in this region; that is why it has so many registered candidates,” Bwana told the Star in his office at Uhuru na Kazi Building in Mombasa.
He said that of the current number, the region has more girls than boys – 51,226 and 49,995 respectively, according to data from the Ministry of Education.
“The girl child has been protected more than the boy child. Nowadays, parents and society are more concerned about girls going to school than the boys,” Bwana said.
He emphasised the need to ensure all girls and boys are protected and supported to pursue their education. “You’ll find that the boys are dropping out of school at an alarming rate, but it does not bother society. The girls are, however, pushed to continue with studies.”
Kilifi has 19,878 girls and 19,508 boys, a difference of 370 children. Mombasa registered 69 more girls than boys. It has 10,599 girls and 10,530 boys.
Kwale has 517 more girls than boys registered as KCPE candidates. The region has registered 11,491 girls and 10,974 boys. The trend is the same for Tana River and Lamu.
Tana River has 291 more girls than boys – 2,702 girls and 2,411 boys. Lamu has 1,705 girls and 1,643 boys, representing a difference of 62 candidates.
Of all the coastal counties, only Taita Taveta has more boys than girls – 4,429 boys and 4,340 respectively.
Edited by F'Orieny