Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has refuted claims that there was massive cheating in the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination.
In particular, Machogu defended the performance of a section of schools in his home counties of Nyamira and Kisii.
“If we were to rank counties, Nyamira and Kisii would rank at number 30 and below,” he said
Speaking during the launch of grade seven textbooks at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) on Friday, CS Machogu termed the rigging reports as mere propaganda.
“From where I sit, there was no cheating. This is propaganda started by people who do not have proper intentions for the country,” he said.
Machogu said that the Ministry of Education, in conjunction with the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), ran a credible process and warned the public against ruining the credibility of Kenyan examinations through propaganda.
“I want to make it clear that when we were briefing the categories and I went to various counties with meetings and all those concerned with the administration of exams, I did that because I want us to have an exam where integrity has not been compromised. I have seen a lot of misrepresentation and a lot of people coming up with information that is not true,” said Machogu.
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At the same time, CS Machogu defended the rise in the number of candidates attaining the minimum university entry point of C+ saying the rise has been gradual over the years even before he took over .
The CS explained that, in 2016, there were 141 As out of 571,161 candidates; representing 0.002 percent, something he described as “mass failure by all standards.”
“In 2021, the number rose to 1,138 As out of 821,582 candidates, with 145,145 students attaining grade C+ and above” he said.
“The global benchmark for C+ and above is 30 per cent, we are at 20 per cent so we have a lot of work to do,” he added.
“Nyambaria got 28 As because of good management, the principal of Maranda which has been leading in national exams was transferred to that school,” he said.
