Mass Failure Hits Teacher Training Colleges as KNEC Releases DPTE Results
Thousands of candidates face resits and restarts even as TSC prepares for a major November recruitment
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) on October 14 officially released teacher examination results for more than 10,000 candidates.
The release covered the Diploma in Primary Teacher Education (DPTE), the Diploma in Secondary Teacher Education (DSTE), TCAE, and the Special Needs Education (SNE) courses at levels 1 and 2.
For thousands of student teachers who have waited anxiously for months, the day should have been one of celebration. For many, it has instead brought disappointment.
The council advised candidates to obtain their results from their colleges. It also noted that only colleges that have cleared their payments in full were issued with their candidates’ results.
The timing was a relief to many, since candidates had been eager to see their results ahead of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) recruitment.
But as results trickled out from colleges across the country, a troubling picture emerged: a large number of students failed, and some teacher training colleges (TTCs) recorded strikingly poor performance.
A Troubling Pattern Across the Country
The figures coming from individual colleges paint a sobering picture.
At Murang’a TTC, results for the 2023/2024 academic year show that of 782 candidates, only six scored a Distinction, the highest grade.
A total of 564 scored Credit and two scored Pass. The most shocking figure is that 210 candidates were referred, meaning they must resit one or more subjects before they can qualify.
At Kenyenya TTC, not a single candidate scored a Distinction. A total of 476 candidates scored Credit, while 230 were referred.
In addition, about 18 candidates received CRNM (Course Requirement Not Met), a grade that means they must start the course afresh because of a serious violation.
The situation is arguably worse at Mosoriot TTC, where only seventeen candidates are set to graduate. Out of 944 candidates, a staggering 927 were referred to resit.
Asumbi TTC also recorded heavy failure. Of 750 registered candidates who sat the 2023 assessment, 12 scored Distinction, 88 scored Credit 1, 209 scored Credit 2 and 5 scored Pass. A total of 422 were referred. Another 14 candidates were absent and were graded as Fail.
At St. Mark’s Kigari TTC in Embu, only 11 candidates got Distinction. A total of 308 got Credit while 541 were referred. At Madonna TTC in Eldoret, 64 candidates were referred in Mathematics alone. Tambach TTC was not spared either, with 578 candidates referred.
At Kitui TTC, out of 851 registered candidates, only one scored a Distinction. A total of 567 got Credit and 11 got Pass, while 263 were referred.
Nine candidates received CRNM and must restart the entire course. At Eregi TTC there was no Distinction at all, with 568 candidates getting Credit and 256 referred.
At Neema Lutheran TTC, 132 candidates sat the summative assessment. Of these, 53 scored Distinction and 74 scored Credit, while three were referred and two were told to restart the course.
Pockets of Excellence
Not every college has a story of despair. Some institutions performed superbly, showing that high achievement is possible under the same examination framework.
At Mandera TTC, out of 639 candidates, 610 scored Distinction and 14 scored Credit. Bishop Mahon TTC recorded no referrals at all. At Moi TTC Baringo, 252 candidates scored Distinction and 247 scored Credit, with only 14 referred.
These results raise a question of their own. If some colleges can post such outstanding performance, why are others recording such dismal outcomes?
The contrast suggests that differences in institutional preparation, teaching quality, student commitment and exam readiness may all be playing a role, though only a proper review can establish the real causes.
Why Are So Many Students Failing?
The biggest question on the minds of candidates, parents, tutors and education stakeholders is why so many students are failing in such huge numbers. There is no single, agreed answer, but several explanations are being put forward.
A high standard of assessment. Some argue that the KNEC summative assessment is set at a very high standard, comparable only to the examinations of the Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examinations Board (KASNEB), which are widely regarded as among the most rigorous and structured assessments in the country.
Proponents of this view say the standard is deliberate and necessary, since teachers shape the next generation and should be held to demanding professional benchmarks. If this is the case, the argument goes, then the high failure rate is the price of quality.
Students not taking their studies seriously. Another explanation, voiced by tutors and observers, is that many students simply do not take their studies seriously enough. KNEC examinations are widely known to be very tough, far more so than the internal examinations students are used to at universities, where lecturers set and mark the papers.
A national examination set and marked externally leaves little room for last-minute cramming, guesswork or reliance on familiar lecturers’ patterns.
Students who treat the course casually, skip classes, delay revision until the final weeks or assume that a pass will come automatically are the ones most exposed.
Proponents of this view note that the same examination framework produced outstanding results at colleges like Mandera, Moi Baringo and Bishop Mahon, which suggests that serious, disciplined preparation can deliver strong outcomes.
The warning from this camp is simple: a KNEC paper rewards candidates who prepare for it as the demanding national assessment it is, and punishes those who do not.
Challenges with the E-Assessment system. Others point to the online assessment system, which they say has posed serious challenges for students. According to this view, technical hitches affected the real-time examinations, disrupting candidates as they sat their papers.
Some candidates and stakeholders are calling on KNEC to upgrade its systems to allow for smooth, reliable assessment.
If technical failures did affect candidates, then some of the failure recorded may reflect the system’s shortcomings rather than the students’ abilities. This is a claim that deserves careful investigation by the council.
Institutional differences. The sharp contrast between colleges, from Mosoriot with 927 referrals out of 944 candidates to Bishop Mahon with none, hints that the learning environment matters.
Staffing, preparation, access to digital infrastructure and the quality of internal assessments may all vary widely between colleges.
Where students are not familiar with online assessment or have limited access to computers, they may be at a disadvantage.
It is important to note that these explanations are contested and none has been conclusively established. They are also not mutually exclusive.
A demanding standard, uneven student commitment, technical glitches and institutional gaps could all be contributing at once. Disentangling them will require transparent analysis from KNEC and the Ministry of Education.
What the Grades Mean
For candidates unfamiliar with the grading terms, the outcomes carry very different consequences. A Distinction is the highest grade, followed by Credit, which is split into Credit 1 and Credit 2, and then Pass.
A referral means the candidate must resit one or more subjects before qualifying. CRNM, or Course Requirement Not Met, is the most severe outcome short of outright failure, because it requires the candidate to start the course again after a serious violation like failing to attend Teaching Practice (TP) or miss an exam paper.
The DPTE programme takes three years, and candidates must have scored a mean grade of C (plain) in KCSE to qualify for admission.
These are students who met the entry standard and invested three years in their training, which makes the scale of the referrals all the more painful.
Results Arrive Ahead of TSC Recruitment
The release of the 2023 results comes at a critical time. TSC Chairperson Jamleck Muturi has said the Commission will carry out a major recruitment of teachers in November, after the conclusion of national examinations and assessments. With their results, candidates can now begin preparing their applications.
Even though certificates are yet to be issued, result slips are ready and can be picked up at the colleges. Teachers can use these slips to apply for TSC employment as they wait for KNEC to release their certificates.
For candidates who passed, this is a welcome window of opportunity. For those who were referred, the resit process now stands between them and the recruitment exercise, a cruel timing for those who had hoped to be in the running.
The SNE results are also significant. Some P1 teachers sat the SNE courses hoping to earn promotion from the TSC, which usually deploys such teachers to special schools and units to address staffing gaps. For them, the results determine whether career advancement is within reach.
Reforms Reshaping Teacher Training
The release of results also comes amid a major restructuring of teacher education. Following the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, led by the late Prof. Raphael Munavu, the Ministry issued a circular dated January 19, 2026, signed by then Basic Education Principal Secretary Dr. Julius Bitok.
The circular abolished several legacy programmes, most notably the Diploma in Early Childhood Teacher Education (DECTE) and its upgrading counterpart, UDECTE.
In their place, the Ministry introduced a single course, the Diploma in Teacher Education, Pre-Primary and Primary (DTE, PP & P).
The aim is to remove the fragmentation between early learning and primary school. The new three-year programme requires a minimum KCSE mean grade of C (plain) and prepares teachers to handle learners from PP1 and PP2 through Grades 1 to 6.
Key directives in the circular included:
- KNEC was directed not to register new candidates under the standalone DECTE or UDECTE streams.
- Colleges must offer the new programme strictly on a full-time basis.
- School-based training modes remain suspended indefinitely, to protect contact hours and instructional quality.
- County and sub-county directors of education must ensure compliance across public and private institutions.
Graduates of the new programme will enjoy dual employment mobility. Because early childhood education falls under county governments while primary education is managed nationally, they can seek posts under county administrations or apply through the TSC.
The candidates receiving results today belong to the programmes that preceded this structure, but the reforms show where teacher training is heading.
What Candidates Should Do Now
With results out and recruitment on the horizon, student teachers should act quickly.
- Contact your college. Confirm that your institution has received results and find out when and how slips are issued.
- Collect your result slip. It is the key document for now, while certificates remain pending.
- Prepare your documents. Gather identification, academic papers and other credentials ahead of the TSC recruitment.
- Watch for official announcements. Follow TSC and KNEC communications for the application window, requirements and deadlines.
- Be patient on certificates. They are expected early next year and will be collected from colleges.
Candidates who face delays because of their colleges’ payment status should engage college management promptly and keep records of all communication.
For Those Referred: Not the End of the Road
For the hundreds of candidates who were referred, the news is undoubtedly painful, but a referral is not a final failure. It is an opportunity to resit and clear the affected units.
Candidates should find out from their colleges which subjects they need to repeat, when the next sitting will be, and what revision support is available.
The lesson many tutors draw is that resits must be approached with far more discipline than the first attempt.
Treating a KNEC paper like a routine college test is a risk no candidate can afford, and structured revision, past-paper practice and consistent class attendance are the surest route to clearing referred units.
Those who received CRNM should seek clarity from college administration about the way forward and the specific requirements for restarting.
Student welfare also deserves attention. Mass failure can take a heavy emotional toll, and colleges, parents and peers should offer support to affected candidates, encouraging them to seek guidance instead of withdrawing in discouragement.
Questions That Demand Answers
The scale of the failure at several colleges raises questions that should not be brushed aside. Is the assessment standard appropriate and clearly communicated to colleges and tutors?
Were the E-Assessment technical complaints investigated, and did they affect candidates’ scores? Why do results differ so dramatically between colleges following the same curriculum?
Are students being adequately prepared, and motivated, to take national assessments seriously from the first year of training? And what support will be offered to colleges whose students performed poorly?
Stakeholders, including teacher unions, tutors’ associations, parents and education experts, are likely to press KNEC and the Ministry for answers.
Upgrading the e-assessment platform, strengthening tutor training, instilling a culture of serious preparation among trainees and offering structured support to struggling institutions are among the measures that could help restore confidence.
Conclusion
The October 14 release of teacher examination results has delivered mixed fortunes. At colleges such as Mandera, Moi Baringo and Bishop Mahon, candidates have reason to celebrate.
At others, such as Mosoriot, Kenyenya, Murang’a, Kitui, Tambach and Asumbi, the numbers tell a story of widespread disappointment that demands serious attention from the education sector.
As TSC prepares to recruit in November and the new DTE, PP & P programme reshapes the future of teacher education, the sector faces a moment of reckoning.
Whether the failures stem from a rigorous standard, technical hitches, institutional gaps, a lack of seriousness among students, or a combination of all of these, the stakes are high.
Thousands of aspiring teachers, and the learners they will one day teach, depend on getting the answers right.