Exams council to release 2015 KCPE results Wednesday

Knec Chief Executive Officer Joseph Kivilu

After the Christmas festivities, focus now shifts to the national examinations agency as this year's Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations results are to be released Wednesday.

Some 937,467 candidates sat for the examinations. The Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) has already warned of a strict marking exercise to detect candidates who attempted to undermine the integrity of the examinations.

Knec Chief Executive Officer Joseph Kivilu Monday said the council was keen to guard the integrity of the examinations, noting that persons caught to have colluded in cheating will be punished.

"Those found to have engaged in examination irregularities will have appropriate action taken against them," said Dr Kivilu.

He said Knec has the capacity to determine the extent of irregularities, and use internationally acceptable thresholds to determine if the validity and reliability of the examinations were compromised.

He said the candidates' scores have been processed according to the laid-down rules and regulations, and results awarded to candidates based on merit.

Parents and candidates whom we spoke to Monday painted a picture of panic as time ticks to the hour.

"A lot was said about examination leaks but what is worrying us is whether even the genuine candidates shall get their examination results cancelled," said a primary school teacher in Nairobi.

The Kenya National Parents and Teachers Association (KNPTA) National Chairman Nathan Barasa said those found to have facilitated cheating must be punished.

He wants cheating cases to be dealt with individually and not the entire candidature. "There are some candidates who never cheat even when their colleagues attempt to. They should not be punished just because most of the candidates in that school cheated," said Mr Barasa.

Last month, Kivilu said the marking process was to be tightened to punish candidates who may have accessed examination material ahead of time.

"While reports of cheating have been widely talked about, the marking will ensure the results are credible," he assured.