Open in app Sign up Sign in Write Sign up Sign in ![\\"\\"](\\" # FALSE: 50,000 students did not score A plain in the 2020 KCSE exam ## Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha said a total of 893 students scored A plain in the exam. ![\\"PesaCheck\\"](\\" ![\\"PesaCheck\\"](\\" PesaCheck · Follow Published in PesaCheck · 4 min read · May 13, 2021 \-- Listen Share ![\\"\\"](\\" A tweet claiming that George Magoha, the Education cabinet secretary (CS), announced that 50,000 students scored A plain in the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam is FALSE. The purported announcement from the CS reads, in part: “Prof Magoha: This year we have 50,000 A plain,”. ![\\"\\"](\\" However, while officially announcing the 2020 KCSE results on May 10, 2021, Prof Magoha said only 893 students had scored A plain and not 50,000 as claimed in the tweet. A total of 747,161 students sat for their 2020 KCSE exams. This is an improvement from the 697,222 students who sat for their KCSE exams in 2019. “There were 893 candidates who scored A plain, which is 0.1 per cent, compared to 627 in 2019 which was 0.09 per cent. This is the clearest indicator that the candidates have performed at par if not better compared to 2019 despite the negative effects of COVID-19,” Prof Magoha said. He further said the number of students who have qualified to join the institutions of higher learning had risen to 143,140 from 125,747 in 2019. The number of special needs students who scored C+ and above, rose to 223 from 127 in 2019. PesaCheck has looked into a tweet claiming that Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha announced that 50,000 students scored A plain in the 2020 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam, and finds it to be FALSE. This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as _potential misinformation_ on Facebook and other social media platforms. By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds. Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content. This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker _Naomi Wanjiku_ and edited by PesaCheck copy editor _Cathy Wamaitha._ The article was approved for publication by managing editor _Enock Nyariki_ _._ ![\\"\\"](\\" ![\\"\\"](\\" PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by _Catherine Gicheru_ and _Justin Arenstein_, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: _Code for Africa_. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. _PesaCheck_also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit ___pesacheck.org_ _._ ![\\"\\"](\\" Follow Us ![\\"\\"](\\" Like Us ![\\"\\"](\\" Email Us PesaCheck is an initiative of _Code for Africa_, through its _innovateAFRICA fund_, with support from _Deutsche Welle Akademie_, in partnership with a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations. ![](\\" ## Sign up to discover human stories that deepen your understanding of the world. ## Free Distraction-free reading. No ads. Organize your knowledge with lists and highlights. Tell your story. Find your audience. Sign up for free ## Membership Read member-only stories Support writers you read most Earn money for your writing Listen to audio narrations Read offline with the Medium app Try for $5/month Kenya Examination English Short Form \-- \-- ![\\"PesaCheck\\"](\\" ![\\"PesaCheck\\"](\\" Follow ## Written by PesaCheck 5.8K Followers ·Editor for PesaCheck Are they lying? Kenya’s 1st fact-checking initiative verifies statements by public figures. A @Code4Kenya and @IBP_Kenya initiative, supported by @Code4Africa. Follow Help Status About Careers Press Blog Privacy Terms Text to speech Teams
A tweet claiming that 50000 students scored an A plain in the 2020 KCSE