Why KNEC is facing backlash over sign language grading in 2025 KCSE

KNEC Chief Executive David Njeng’ere says that differentiated grading is necessary to protect vulnerable learners and promote equity in national examinations. [File, Standard] 

The release of the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results has sparked a national debate, not only about grades, cut-off points, and university placements, but also about fairness, inclusivity, and affirmative action within Kenya’s examination system.

The controversy arose after it emerged that marks for Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) were missing from the final result slips of some candidates, leading to confusion among students and teachers and escalating into a full-blown policy dispute.

At the centre of the storm is the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), which has come under pressure from teachers, parents, Members of Parliament, and Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah to explain why KSL scores were excluded from the final grade computation for certain candidates.

The Ministry of Education has also been drawn into the debate, raising questions about communication, policy consistency, and the limits of inclusive assessment.

KNEC Chief Executive David Njeng’ere defended the council’s decision, arguing that differentiated grading is necessary to protect vulnerable learners and promote equity in national examinations. According to Dr Njeng’ere, KSL occupies a unique position within the KCSE framework and was never intended as a general elective for all learners.

“KNEC introduced assessment of the Kenyan Sign Language in 2010 based on a syllabus developed in 2004 specifically for learners with hearing impairment,” he explained. “For grading purposes, KSL is computed into the final mean grade only for candidates who are duly registered and documented as having hearing impairment.”

The CEO said the subject was introduced after years of concern that learners with hearing impairment were being disadvantaged in Kiswahili examinations, which rely heavily on phonetics, listening skills, and oral components incompatible with their learning needs.

Senator Omtatah, however, has challenged this interpretation, accusing KNEC of unfair administrative action. In a letter to the council, he argued that excluding KSL from the final aggregate for hearing candidates violated principles of fairness, equality, and legitimate expectation.

“KSL is listed as a technical subject under Category 5 of the 8-4-4 curriculum. Yet it has been treated differently for two sets of candidates, without prior notice, without public participation, and after students had already registered and sat the examination,” he wrote.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, while releasing the 2025 KCSE results, said grading followed the reviewed framework. “The 2025 KCSE results have been graded using the reviewed system, in which the overall grade considers Mathematics, the best-performing language among English, Kiswahili, and Kenyan Sign Language, and the best-performed subjects,” he said.

Omtatah argued that while hearing-impaired candidates had KSL computed as a compulsory language, hearing candidates who sat the same subject found their scores excluded entirely. “This alteration amounts to an unfair administrative action and undermines inclusive education,” he said.

KNEC insists its actions are guided by regulations unchanged since the subject’s introduction. Clause 4.1.5 of the KCSE Examination Regulations states that “Kenyan Sign Language is to be taken by only candidates with hearing impairment.” Hearing candidates who sat KSL did so for competencies, not grading. “This is not discriminatory grading. It is a deliberate affirmative action to safeguard equal opportunities for candidates with hearing impairment,” Njeng’ere said, noting KNEC’s position has remained consistent since 2010 and reaffirmed after the 2023 review following recommendations by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform.

Education stakeholders are calling for clearer policy communication, possible curriculum review by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), and stronger guidance to schools.

Eliud Mwangi, a KSL teacher, noted inconsistencies when schools computed grades independently. “After taking Mathematics, the best-performed language, and the best five subjects, we found the grades did not add up. That is when we realised KSL had not been considered,” he said.

Mukurwe-ini MP Kaguchia John wrote to National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, saying KSL handling left students confused. “KSL was offered and examined in 2025 by normal students. Despite being examined and marked by KNEC, the subject was not graded for these students. This decision has disadvantaged thousands nationally,” he said.

National Parents Association chairman Silas Obuhatsa supported KNEC’s position, saying curriculum development, approval, and assessment processes are clearly defined. “Field officers and school heads receive instructions on which subjects registered students are eligible to sit and be graded in,” he said.

KNEC revealed that 4,162 candidates sat the KSL paper in 2025, but 3,493 had no hearing impairment and were never formally documented as such. “Registration of hearing learners for KSL is an abuse of a system meant to assist learners with hearing impairment,” Njeng’ere said.