The delay in the release of the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination results is causing unprecedented tension, fear and anxiety in the Country. Most affected are the candidates, their parents and schools with the Kenya Ntional Examinations Council, Knec, being tight lipped about the delay. But, what may have happened?
The delay has extended long since it has been the tradition for the Ministry of Education to release the results in December.
The new system whereby each examination paper was customised for each candidate, with their name, index number and school pre-printed on it has been cited as one of the reasons why the delay has been experienced.
“This is the second year we are releasing results at the beginning of the year because… you know the problem with all of us is that when we release results in December, we are accused of rushing. So, we decided to take time to address all issues and ensure the smooth release of results,” Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang said.
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Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said that the 965,501 2024 KCSE candidates could know their results by Tuesday, January 7, 2025.
“Traditionally, the KCSE exams were released in January and we are keeping to that tradition and we will be releasing them within the next two weeks,” Ogamba had said in Kisii.
The delay to release the results come at a time the nation is facing challenges for smooth implementation of CBC.
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What may have caused the delay.
A possible mix-up in the candidates’ score may be one of the reasons as to why announcement of the KCSE 2024 has delayed. Sources privy to the marking of the scripts indicate that sharing of the random numbers between many candidates in several examination centres may have posed a great challenge in making entries of the scores.
But, KNEC is downplauing the delay saying all is well and they are working to have the results released within the next seven days.
“We are working within the timeframe publicly stated by PS Belio Kipsang. The PS said the results will be out within ten days, as the council is working hard to ensure we meet the deadline. But also going by the tradition, there is no point for Kenyans to worry as the second week of January has not lapsed,” the KNEC official, who sought anonymity, said.
One of the key innovations that the Council introduced in the candidates’ scripts was the personalisation of KCSE question papers for each candidate.
According to Knec, this move was designed to prevent cheating by ensuring that each candidate’s exam paper is unique.
Knec CEO David Njengere emphasized that this measure was meant to enhance the security of the exams by anonymising the answer scripts during marking, thereby reducing the chances of malpractice and ensuring fairness in the grading process.
Consequently, examiners were not able to identify the owner of the script, as it only contained a signature.
“This measure is expected to boost exam security by anonymizing answer scripts during the marking process. The KCSE question papers will be personalized for every candidate. This will help anonymise the answer scripts during marking.” Dr Njengere had said on the run-up to the exams last year.
