Senator Crystal Asige calls for probe into KCPE exam results fiasco

Nominated Senator and singer Crystal Asige has voiced her concerns over the discrepancies which emanated after the release of the 2023 KCPE exam results, which saw several schools and leaders call for remarking and an explanation from Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu.

While speaking on the Senate floor, Asige joined previous leaders who have already raised their concerns with the KCPE results debacle, seeking a statement from the House Education committee over the alleged errors.

The Senator asked the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) to provide all data on all cases of erroneous marking and grading of candidates from the KCPE exam results.

"Explain why there were discrepancies received in marks by the candidates in the NEC portal and through the SMS service provider. (Detail) to the Senate gaps which caused the error and how they've been addressed," she said.

Asige also asked the Ministry of Education, under which KNEC falls, to explain what steps they were planning to do to address the rampant complains as the Form One selection process kick-starts.

"Explain why candidates who received marks for subjects they did not sit for which has since been explained by KNEC as a misalignment. Explain the steps, if any, the Ministry of Education plans to take to resolve the complains before conducting the secondary school selection process so as not to disadvantage affected learners, " she added.

The Senator also asked the Education ministry to clarify the protocol and timeline available to candidates contesting their results and addressing their concerns over the matter especially to vulnerable learners in marginalised communities who may not have the "access and information required to make the complains."

Following the uproar, KNEC admitted to irregularities in the process, saying it had received appeals over some errors in results obtained through the short code 40054 that was provided by the Ministry of Education.

“It was brought to the attention of KNEC that results for some candidates had misalignment of the marks and grades in Kiswahili as they were placed at the Kenyan Sign Language,” read the statement from KNEC CEO David Njengere.