The ongoing marking of 2021/2022 KCSE examination will end on 15th Friday, thereafter CS Magoha will release results before schools reopen amid fear of cancelation of results of several examination centers.
Education cabinet secretary Prof George Magoha last week assured Kenyans that 2021/2022 KCSE examination marking exercise will be done under strict and meticulous guidelines to ensure the integrity of the exam.
Prof Magoha said the exercise would be conducted in 35 centers and would be completed by this week to allow candidates to visit colleges and vocational institutions.
According to the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC), 831,015 candidates registered for the 2021 KCSE exam across 10,413 centres.
Marking of examinations is being done in selected secondary schools and tertiary institutions on the basis of subjects within Nairobi and kiambu counties.
Alliance High School, State House Girls, Sunshine High School, Stare Girls, Limuru Girls, Thika High, Buruburu High School and Alliance Girls are some of the centers where marking is underway.
Others include Muranga TTC, Moi Forces Academy (Nairobi), Upper Hill High, Loreto Girls, St Georges High, Langata High, Kenya High, Moi Girls Isinya and Lenana School.
Simon Nabukwesi, principal secretary of university education and research, had recently indicated that KCSE candidates would start joining universities in early June this year.
Mr Nabuquesi said admissions to professional institutions would begin in September.
“Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) will start placing candidates in institutions soon after the release of KCSE results. There will be no waste of time. Candidates will be selected to join universities in early June,” said Mr. Nabuquesi as he oversaw exam distribution in Nakuru.
He further said that those joining TVET institutions will do so in September.
“People joining colleges and vocational institutions will do so in September,” he said.
He also assured that the institutes have enough space to accommodate all the 2021 KCSE candidates.
During the administration of the written examination, cases of examination malpractices were reported in many parts of the country.
However, the CS said that no exam papers were leaked and only attempts were made to facilitate copying, where some exam officials took pictures of them after collecting question papers from containers.
He said that no exam paper has been leaked, crediting the stringent security measures by the police and KNCE officials.
Magoha said there are measures in place that require all security officers involved in the exam to sit in positions where they have a “complete view of the exam material per day”.
However many candidates disclosed that how they got KCSE leak before the actual question paper started.
Speaking to the media, the students, who asked for anonymity, explained that they use the social platform to connect with clients who have access to the papers.
He said that the leaked papers would be sent to his phone an hour or two before the commencement of the examination.
A candidate narrated how he wrote the answers on a napkin, which he successfully hid inside the examination hall.
He told NTV, “I got the exam paper two hours back, wrote the notes on a napkin, which they successfully took to the exam room.”
The candidate said that the authorities found it difficult to trace the perpetrators as the communication mainly took place on social media.
“We received all the papers of Kiswahili, CRE, Chemistry including practicals. Often we used to get the paper an hour or two before the start of the exam. So there was leakage and the government should stop saying otherwise,” he reiterated.
Describing how the plans were implemented, the candidate confirmed that some of his teachers were aware of the malpractices in the exam, but did not take appropriate action.
Due to this disclosure, there is a possibility of cancellation of examination among teachers, parents and candidates.
Last year a total of 287 students who appeared in the 2020 KCSE exam had their results canceled due to various exam malpractices.
Education CS George Magoha said there is clear evidence that 287 students were involved in cheating.
