The Kenya National Examinational Council (KNEC) has responded to concerns raised about a school where all candidates scored identical marks in science in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education – KCPE.
In a statement on Saturday, November 25, KNEC CEO David Njegere affirmed that the school was not involved in examination malpractices.
According to the statement, KNEC received complaints from both the examination center and anonymous letters alluding to a possible irregularity.
Upon receipt of the complaints, the examination council undertook a review process to establish the reality behind the rare incident.
However, the body then found out that there was no proof that the identical marks were a result of cheating or an irregularity.
“KNEC has reviewed the results for the school and all the reports that were received from the examination centers and anonymous letters and has not found any indication that the school was involved in examination malpractices,” the exam body stated.
In its explanation, KNEC stated that Science is a multiple-choice question paper, thus making it possible for the candidates to get identical marks.
As per the statement, it would be impossible for the council to cancel the results for candidates without a supporting report that cheating happened during the administration of examination.
The response came on the back of an online debate regarding some reported anomalies in the KCPE results.
In one of the cases, over 40 candidates in a school whose identity was not disclosed reportedly scored 83 marks in a subject.
The identical marks had emerged as one of the anomalies reported by candidates and schools after Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu released the results on Thursday, November 23.
Several cases of candidates with marks for the Kenya Sign Language subject also emerged posing a question on what could have been the reason.
In addition, candidates and teachers from different schools also complained about significant deviation from the previous performances of the candidates in their internal exams.
KNEC explains why grades lacked the minus(-) or (+) signs
KNEC further addressed concerns about some results sent to candidates that missed key marks (+ or -) for the grades.
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However, KNEC dispelled the fears and instead attributed the discrepancies and anomalies to the SMS service providers.
In the statement on Saturday, KNEC reaffirmed that dissatisfied candidates have a right to appeal for a review of their exam papers using the procedures provided for in the law.
According KNEC, a total of 133 complaints had been made from various parts of the country.
The 133 cases, KNEC added, had been addressed and all results for the affected candidates updated correctly.
Also Read: Confusion as KCPE Candidates Receive Wrong Marks
To further avoid confusion over the results sent via SMS, the body asked candidates to visit their examination centers for official provisional results.
