The 2022 Form 4 exams did not leak, the national examiner has said.
The Kenya National Examination Council absolved itself of blame over supposed leakages of examination materials, saying parents were duped into paying millions of shillings for fake papers.
Knec CEO David Njeng’ere on Thursday told the National Assembly Education committee led by Tinderet MP Julius Melly in Mombasa claims of exam papers on sale are usually made by fraudsters.
“We will share the social media sites that claim to have those ‘genuine’ examination papers. People pay money to rogue agents. They have been made to believe those sharing the papers are Knec officers. They are not,” Njeng’ere said.
The committee is probing allegations of cheating in the 2022 KCSE.
On Thursday, the committee grilled Education CS Ezekiel Machogu, PS Belio Kipsang and Knec CEO Njeng’ere at PrideInn Paradise Hotel in Mombasa.
Njeng’ere said national examination papers are usually accessed by a limited number of people once they are set.
“It is not possible for people to access those examination papers prior,” the CEO told the committee, and gave them a challenge.
“Enter those social media sites, get those papers and keep them. Wait for November and compare them with the actual papers,” Njeng’ere said.
On claims that some examination centre managers, who are the principals of the schools, had prior knowledge of what practicals would be done, the CEO acknowledged the council usually sends advance instruction to schools.
However, the instructions only direct the centre managers to prepare certain solutions and other reagents or instruments in parcels clearly marked confidential.
“These advance instructions don’t come with questions that candidates will be given,” said the CEO, adding that some principals share the instructions with people, misleading the masses.
He however said there is no other way than to send the advance instructions to ask schools to prepare for the practicals.
He defended the council against claims of weaponisation of the examination, with legislators and some parents taking issue with the deployment of heavy security around examination areas.
Njeng’ere said the multi-agency approach to examination was introduced in the 2016 reforms to bring back the credibility of national examinations.
CS Machogu and PS Kipsang said the ministry has proposed amendments to the Knec Act of 2012 to include the 2016 reforms, saying most of the things that were brought about by the reforms are yet to be anchored in law.
For instance, according the Act, exam papers are supposed to be kept in police armouries. However, the 2016 reforms introduced containers where the exam papers are now kept.
Marakwet West MP Timothy Kipchumba accused Knec of becoming a law unto itself because there is no proper oversight of the council.
He suggested the establishment of a Kenya National Examination Regulatory Authority to keep Knec in check.
However, Njeng’ere said the council has not done anything outside the law and cannot be said to have become a law unto itself.
“We have not at any point exceeded the powers given to us in law,” he noted.
He said the council has been constrained on the budgetary front and called on the MPs to lobby for a bigger allocation.
He said the issues with the striking examiners that were witnessed in the 2022 KCSE exam were not a creation of Knec.
“Before 2016, Knec used to collect examination fees from learners and these were used for administration of the exams. However, this was scrapped and the government took over the fees,” the CEO said.
Instead, the government started giving the council a flat Sh4 billion grant when the candidates population was about 500,000 in 2016.
However, to date, the grant has remained more or less the same but the candidates population has almost doubled.
“We are the only institution not funded based on per capita. We are given flat grant. This grant cannot meet the needs of the examiners, exams and other related issues,” Njeng’ere said.
Melly said some of the problems with the national exams are a result of poor funding.
The MP said they will recommend better funding of the council so as to better administer national exams.
“So that it is able to pay examiners on time, have very good facilities, make sure the marking centres are improved,” Melly said.