There was a huge increase in the number of female candidates sitting KCPE this year in 23 counties.
This was noted in counties including Bungoma, Kakamega, Mombasa, Nandi and Nakuru, Education CS Amina Mohamed said.
The registered female candidature rose by 6.9 per cent compared to 2017.
Out of 1,052,364 candidates, boys registered were 527,294 (51.1 per cent), while girls were 525,070 (49.9 per cent).
Girls beat their male counterparts in English, Kiswahili and Science, while boys led in mathematics, social studies and religious studies.
“Girls’ performance has been on the rise in the past five years,”Amina said.
She said general performance has started picking up after falling in 2016 over the implementation of new exams rules dubbed “Matiang laws”.
The CS said her ministry is investigating why 8,347 registered candidates missed the exam.
