Nairobi — Female candidates outperformed their male counterparts in the November 2025 Advocates Training Programme (ATP) examinations, the Council of Legal Education (CLE) has revealed, despite an overall dip in performance compared to last year.

Out of 2,968 candidates who sat for the exams,1,835 regular and 1,133 re-sit candidates,female students consistently recorded higher pass rates across most units.

Among regular candidates, female pass rates ranged from 55.5% to 58.5%, while male pass rates lagged behind at 41.5% to 44.5%.

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"The November 2025 examinations reflect a dip in performance compared to the November 2024 ATP Examination," CLE said in a statement.

"We take note of the performance trend across all units, especially Professional Ethics, which continues to record the lowest pass rate."

Professional Ethics (ATP 105) again recorded the poorest performance, with a pass rate of just 25.38%. This marks the third consecutive examination series in which the unit has been the lowest-performing, highlighting persistent challenges in this area of the curriculum.

The highest-performing unit was ATP 104 - Trial Advocacy, which recorded a pass rate of 97.49%.CLE also highlighted efforts to ensure inclusivity and fairness in the examinations.

"CLE has been undertaking various reforms in the administration of the ATP Examination, including setting, marking, and release of results. Notably, in this series, CLE facilitated eleven candidates with special needs, e.g., providing a typist," the council said.

The council reaffirmed its commitment to promoting quality legal education in Kenya.

"CLE is guided by its vision of developing innovative legal professionals through transformative legal education and training in Kenya. We actively engage stakeholders to align legal training with emerging trends in practice,"the council stated.