Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has been sued in Court by a community-based organisation over the integrity and credibility of the recently released 2023 KCSE exam results.
According to the petition filed at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi,by the Operation Linda Jamii group,the Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu is accused of unilaterally altering the KCSE grading system in 2023 examinations.
The group indicated that such an action is contravening Section 10 of the KNEC Act of 2023 which gives the council the exclusive power to regulate the grading system of national examinations.
Additionally, the petitioner points out on the the lack of public participation before the rolling out of the new system violated, saying that this is also a violation of Article 10 of the Constitution of Kenya that touches on national values and the principles of good governance.
The organization further claims that while the Ministry of Education indicated the reasons for changing the system to allow more direct entries into universities, records show that the number of candidates who managed direct placement under the new system.
In 2023, universities entry was 58.27% down from 59.14% that was recorded in 2022.
On the other hand, KNEC has been involved as a first respondent.Tge council is accused of having released provisional results on its portal, which according to the petitioner is against the KNEC Act of 2012 .
The act does not encourage KNEC release of results in a provisional state.
KNEC is also sued over lacking accountability and transparency in computing the final results of 2023 KCSE examinations.According to the petitioner , the case of Oruba Boys Secondary School in Migori County that saw all the candidates scoring mean grade of D plain had a deviation of 1 to 2 points was unexpected.
The organization now seeks orders to halt the placement of students by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS),saying that arguing that the integrity and credibility of the KCSE 2023 is still in question.
KNEC is therefore required inform the court with marking reports of all subjects examined under KCSE 2023,present all the chief invigilators’ reports from all the examination centres and also any other orders that the court may require in justice delivery.
Students sitting for KCSE National examinations .image/Courtesy
The examination council and the Ministry of Education are now expected to file their responses within a period if 14 days from the date of this service.
On March 12, 2024, this case is scheduled to be mentioned.
