Knec: Why 2016 national exams will be set afresh

The 2016 national examination questions set by the previous team have been discarded. The new Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) team hired to salvage the credibility of examination certificates by stopping cheating and other malpractices is now working on fresh questions.

Working under what they believe is a foolproof system, the team is burning the midnight oil to ensure this year’s Standard Eight and Form Four exams are not only different from those prepared by their predecessors, but are also protected from leakage and other irregularities.

Nine Knec senior managers were suspended in March to pave way for investigations into irregularities that rocked the 2015 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam, which is believed to have been widely leaked.

Some material has been sent to the printer abroad. The new team is reportedly reviewing the KCSE questions and the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams to ensure they were not compromised.

Sources told The Standard the new Knec team retreated to Naivasha for a meeting that ended last Thursday, at which preparations and strategies to avoid disruption of the exam calendar were discussed.

An official revealed in confidence the process has already started afresh for this year’s KCSE as the new Knec board is pushing for a clear departure from processes presided over by the suspended senior managers.

The decision to reset the papers is to protect the integrity of exams, but undoing a process that had started last November is raising new concerns.

Elaborate timelines are involved that explain why some questions for Standard Eight and Form Four examinations have already been dispatched to the printer abroad. “Knec is preparing to develop questions from scratch starting next week. This means that talk of printing the papers can only start after two months,” added the source.

The source went on: “Some of the 2016 examination questions had been sent to the printer but the actual printing is yet to start because no further instructions had been given.”

For security reasons, the bulk of the exam materials are printed abroad - which is the case with all KCPE questions and half of KCSE papers.

But Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has urged that the new Knec team- tasked with reforming the body to restore the credibility of exams- be given time. 

“The matter of examinations is very sensitive. I do not want to discuss it. Let us leave the new team to handle it. They are alive to those challenges,” Dr Matiang’i said.

George Magoha, the new Knec board chairman, however, dismissed concerns about preparations as ‘jumping the gun’. He assured parents and candidates that this year’s examinations will be administered on time.

“What I can say now is to assure the parents and candidates that there shall be credible examinations in 2016. There should be no panic whatsoever,” said Prof Magoha, who is the immediate former University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor.

Tenders floated

The Standard established that the Knec board has been on a retreat with some Government officials to plan for the national examinations. “KNEC officials, who have always been involved in examination preparations, were not in the retreat, raising questions whether the board would trust them with the delicate process,” said the source.

And last week, Knec floated tenders for provision of security services. The closing date for the tender is May 5.

Security of examinations has been at the centre of the credibility of tests, with Knec’s internal reports accusing security officials tasked to secure the papers of leaking them.

Last year’s examinations were marred by massive irregularities. Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery warned that examinations are security issue.

Public outcry

Knec’s Chief Executive Officer Joseph Kivilu and eight senior management officials were suspended in the purge prompted by public outcry over leakage of exam papers that were readily available on social media a day before candidates wrote the exams.

Those suspended were senior deputy secretary in charge of examinations Ambia Noor, deputy secretary in charge of security Maundu Matenzewa, principal examination secretary Thomas McKenzie and Sarah Majani, the senior deputy secretary in charge of reprographics. Investigations are ongoing.

Senior deputy secretary Bobby Nyagah Mwai, Geoffrey Gitogo, who is the senior deputy secretary in charge of Information Communication Technology, the principal supply chain management Michael Ndua and deputy secretary Richard Mwangangi were also suspended.

Unveiling the new board, Matiang’i said the team’s major task was to restore public confidence and credibility in the management of examination processes.

Matiang’i last month said findings of an audit report revealed Knec has fundamental systemic challenges that must be “decisively and conclusively addressed”.

The CS also alluded to the possibility that the already set examinations may have been compromised.

Knec officials familiar with national examinations preparations said the process of preparing examination questions and printing them was elaborate with strict timelines.