The 2021 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examiners have concluded the marking exercise.
The examiners said they have done their best in ensuring fairness in the marking exercise.
What follows now is grading and official release of the results to the public.
Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha had already assured that this years’ KCSE marking will be done under strict and meticulous guidelines to ensure exam integrity.
Most examiners said this was adhered to as the strictness would not see them getting outside the marking centres.
The marking exercise happened in 35 centres which included secondary schools and colleges.
Alliance High School, State House Girls, Sunshine High School, Starehe Girls, Limuru Girls, Thika High, Buruburu High school and Alliance Girls are some of the centres where marking was done.
Others include Murang’a TTC, Moi Forces Academy (Nairobi), Upper Hill High, Loreto Girls, St. Georges High, Lang’ata High, Kenya High, Moi Girls Isinya and Lenana School.
University Education and Research Principal Secretary Simon Nabukwesi noted that the KCSE candidates will start joining universities as early as June, this year.
Mr Nabukwesi said entry into vocational institutions will begin in September.
“The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) will start placing the candidates in the institutions immediately the KCSE results are released. There will be no waste of time. Candidates will be picked to join universities in early June,” said Mr Nabukwesi when he inspected KCSE exam distribution in Nakuru.
He further said those joining TVET institutions will do so in September.
“Those joining colleges and vocational institutes will do so in September,” he added.
He also assured that the institutions have enough places to accommodate all the 2021 KCSE candidates.
During the administration of the written examination, cases of exam malpractices were reported in several parts of the country.
However, the CS maintained that no exam papers leaked and that there were only attempts to aid cheating, where some examination officials took photos of question papers after collecting them from the containers.
He said no examination paper has leaked out, crediting tough safeguard measures by police and Knec officials.
Magoha said there are measures in place that require all security officers manning the examinations to sit at positions where they have a “full view of the examination materials daily.”
Several candidates however revealed how they got the KCSE leakage before the actual papers started.
Speaking to the media, the students, who sought anonymity, intimated that they used social platforms to engage with clients who had access to the papers.
They said that the leaked papers would be sent to their phones an hour or two before the examinations began.
One candidate narrated how he wrote the answers on a napkin, which he successfully sneaked inside the exam room.
“I received the exam paper, two hours before, wrote down the notes on a napkin which he successfully took into the exam room,” he told NTV.
The candidate added that the authorities found it hard to trace the culprits as the communication mainly occurred on social media.
“We received all papers of Kiswahili, CRE, Chemistry including practicals. Often we would get the papers an hour or two hours before the exam begins. So the leakage was there and the government should stop saying otherwise,” he reiterated.
Revealing how the plans came into play, the candidate affirmed that some of their teachers were aware of the exam malpractice but did not take appropriate action.
This revelation has caused some panic with teachers, parents and candidates fearing exam cancellation.
Last year a total of 287 students who sat the 2020 KCSE examination had their results cancelled over various exam malpractices.
Education CS George Magoha said that there was clear evidence the 287 students were involved in cheating.
“Out of the 287, 211 of them had unauthorised material in the examinations room… mobile phones were 45,” Magoha said.
