Kirinyaga County has registered 14,399 candidates for the 2026 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, with girls accounting for a slightly higher proportion of the candidature than boys.

Statistics contained in a report from the County Director of Education, Joshua Mwangi, show that 7,395 girls representing approximately 51.4 per cent and 7,004 boys representing 48.6 per cent are expected to sit the national examinations across the county.

The figures reveal that girls have outnumbered boys in three of the five sub-counties: Kirinyaga East, Kirinyaga Central and Mwea East. Boys, however, lead in Kirinyaga West, while Mwea West has a relatively balanced gender distribution.

Kirinyaga Central Sub-County leads in candidature with 4,373 candidates, comprising 2,177 boys and 2,196 girls. Kirinyaga East follows with 3,790 candidates, including 1,763 boys and 2,027 girls, while Kirinyaga West has registered 2,884 candidates, made up of 1,579 boys and 1,305 girls.

Mwea East has 1,949 candidates, comprising 787 boys and 1,162 girls, while Mwea West has the lowest candidature at 1,403, with 698 boys and 705 girls.

The county’s candidature is drawn from both public and private examination centres. The report indicates that 14,223 candidates are registered in public schools, while 248 are listed under private schools.

An additional 127 candidates, comprised of 38 male and 89 female candidates have registered through private examination centres, hosted at Sub-County Director of Education (SCDE) offices across the county.

The director noted no anomalies had been reported in all centers across the county, with expect all the candidates expected to sit for the exams.

By Mutai Kipng’etich