A great number of Kenyans have expressed support for stringent measures introduced into the process of national examinations by Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.
Three quarters of Kenyans – 77 percent – are confident that the 2016 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations results, which precipitated a nationwide controversy over poor performance of candidates, were the reflection of a clean exercise.
The survey which was conducted on 2057 adults drawn from 41 counties also showed that 78 percent of Kenyans understand what prompted the controversy that erupted after the release of the results, but support Matiang’i’s method.
“Whereas a clear majority of Kenyans believe the KCSE exams were marked correctly, only half of them support the proposal that they be independently vetted to clear any doubts,” read part of the survey report conducted by Ipsos Synovate.
The results sparked heated debate countrywide after a shocking drop in performance compared to that of 2015 and previous years.
In KCSE, the number of students who attained a mean grade of A Plain dropped from 2,636 in 2015 to mare 141.
The results showed that only 88,928 candidates managed to score mean grade C Plus and above compared to 169,492 in 2015 while 149,929 and 33,399 students scored mean grades D- and E respectively.
“The level of awareness of the KCSE exam marking far exceeds the demand for its review,” indicated the survey report.
Last month, Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) demanded the cancellation of all results for 574,124 candidates who sat for last year’s KSCE exams.
KNUT, through its Secretary General Wilson Sossion, claimed it conducted investigations with examiners tasked to mark the national examinations and established that due process was not adhered in marking and releasing the results.
Sossion said the said scores did not mirror the true performance of the students, maintaining that the marking process was not approved by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC).
A group of 89 parents of candidates who sat the exams in Mombasa have so far lodged a petition in court against KNEC seeking to have the exam results nullified.
The parents whose children sat the exams at Nyali Primary School, Mombasa, are seeking the court’s intervention in compelling KNEC to avail all the marked scripts for cross-checking.
They claim that the marking and release of the exam results were hurriedly done compared to other years.
The parents claim KNEC contravened fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.
