Teachers unions turn heat on Knec over exam irregularities

Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion argued that students are not the custodians of the national exams and punishing them is an act of impunity on the part of Knec. (Photo: File/Standard)

Nairobi: The Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) maintained that the 5,101 students whose results have been cancelled are innocent and should not be victimised.

The unions instead want Education Minister Fred Matiang'i and Knec officials to be accountable and expose those who leaked the exams.

Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion argued that students are not the custodians of the national exams and punishing them is an act of impunity on the part of Knec.

Mr Sossion explained that students are always in school and not in the examinations office, adding that the mandate of Knec is to secure the exams.

"The mandate of the Knec is to secure the exams. It will be wrong to punish the students for exam irregularities and not make the exams body accountable," said Sossion.

Of the total 5,101 candidates involved in examination malpractices, 2,538 candidates were from 150 Sub County schools while 1,817 candidates were from 56 County schools.

The irregularities were also recorded in 512 candidates from 56 Private schools, 64 candidates from 14 National schools and 170 candidates were from 29 Private examination centres across the country.

Kuppet Chairman Omboko Milemba was also categorical that exam leakages were not a mistake of the students but of the examinations body.

"It’s not the students’ mistake that the exam leakages happened. We should ask, who leaks these exams from Knec?" posed Milemba.

But Matiang'I, while releasing the examination results Thursday, apologised to the students, parents, guardians and the nation at large for the 2015 exams leakages.

Matiang'i acknowledged the challenges the examinations body is facing but vowed to weed out the menace once and for all.

"I want to apologize to the students and parents for the exam irregularities. I want to promise that this will be a thing of the past by next year," said Matiang'i.

The Education boss also disclosed that the students whose results have been cancelled, will have to make a follow up at the Knec Secretariat.

Once they travel to the Secretariat, Knec personnel will take them through what informed the decision to cancel the exam results and if they have a dispute, it will be solved.